A Price for Peace
by freowin
Summary: At the end of the 4th Shinobi War, things don't go quite as planned for Naruto forcing him to make a sacrifice in order to bring the peace that he had been destined for.
1. The Price to be Paid

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 1: The Price to be Payed**

Rain battered the ground in torrents creating small rivers on the muddy ground. The sky looked as though it would rain for an eternity attracted by the fires that set the surrounding trees ablaze. It looked like the world was in mourning and it wept for the lives of those that had recently been taken.

The Fourth Great Shinobi war did not last very long, in fact since the fighting started only five days past and in it came to and end in a whimper rather than a bang. Two rivals that once called each other friends had fought and one had lost, and in this fight losing meant only one thing, death. "It wasn't supposed to end this way!" a teen with spiky blond hair cried out in agony and regret. His shirt had been torn and several deep wounds were scattered all over his body although they were healing rather quickly.

"And how was it supposed to end Dobe?" the other teen asked weakly. A small trickle of blood was escaping from the corner of his mouth and his dark raven hair was dirty with mud from where he lay.

Naruto clenched his eyes trying not to let any tears escape, his efforts were futile however as he could not help but cry knowing that the first person he ever was able to call a friend was about to die from his wounds. He looked into the air not wanting to show weakness even now to Sasuke and silently thanking the rain for allowing his grief to remain hidden. "We were supposed to die together. That's what I saw the last time we fought, and that's what the grand geezer toad saw, we are both supposed to die."

"Is that it? Some prophecy is going to make you react like this." Sasuke coughed spitting out some more blood, he could feel that he didn't have much time left but he would be damned if things ended this way. "Since when have you ever let fate boss you around? If you did then a loser like you would never have made it this far." he smirked.

"But this was my answer." Naruto said weakly. The fact Sasuke was actually joking with him just made things that much worse.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Answer to what?"

"Ero-sennin and Nagato's quest, this was how I was going to bring peace." Naruto said falling to his knees beside the fallen Uchiha. Naruto turned his cerulean eyes back down to his friend and saw that Sasuke had no idea what Naruto was talking about. "Ero-sennin once told me that the world was cursed by hatred and he believed that if people truly understood each other. Then I met Nagato and he believed that only through pain could peace be accomplished." Naruto explained while thinking back fondly on his master and fellow student of Jiraiya.

"Is this going somewhere? Because I don't exactly have all day." Sasuke said with a weak smirk before wincing in pain.

"Yes it does, the answer to end the circle of hatred is for everyone to lose. A joint loss that will unite everyone. Kakashi-sensei told me before I left that they are calling me the Hero of the Elemental Nations. I die and everyone loses the person they consider a hero, then everyone would understand each others pain." the blond spoke trying to make Sasuke understand.

Sasuke couldn't help but laugh. "Always the loyal Dobe huh? Well I guess things can't be helped anymore. But were you really willing to throw away your dream of becoming Hokage for this?" he asked. The last Uchiha's voice was cracking and he had to spit out a hefty amount of blood as his internal organs began to shut down.

"I am the legacy of my master and Ero-sennin believed in me so it is my duty to carry on his will. As for being Hokage. How could I protect a village when I couldn't even save a friend? This was my answer but now I don't know what to do." the blond admitted sounding like he had suffered a soul crushing defeat.

Sasuke sighed and gazed up into the sky. '_It's typical, I don't deserve to see the sun nor the stars when I die. Just the darkness and rainclouds that have filled my heart with the need for revenge_.' he thought before making up his mind to do the only thing he could for the only person he had ever called his friend. "Half a mile away there is a cave, inside you will find the last of the Zetsu clones, without Tobi they have no real purpose, I was going to use them to destroy Konoha, but that doesn't seem likely now." he tried to laugh again but the action proved too painful.

"Why are you telling me this?" Naruto asked.

"Kami I swear you get dumber by the year. Use one of the Zetsu clones, make it transform into you then stab it with my sword. When they find the body everyone will assume we died together." Sasuke explained. It was now becoming quite difficult for him to remain conscious almost to the point where he was having small moments that his eyes blurred out of focus.

"Do you think that would work Kurama?" Naruto asked.

'**It's a sound plan Naruto. If you decided that we should do this we will have to leave the Elemental Nations, and we may never be able to return**.' the large nine tailed fox said with a hint of empathy for his partner.

Naruto knew that already, but them thinking he was dead would be just as effective. Although for him it would be so much more difficult and painful than dying. Not knowing when, or if he would ever be able to see his friends again, or see the sun rise over the Hokage monument. "Ero-sennin once told me that a shinobi's life is sacrifice. I think I finally know what he was talking about, Itachi sacrificed his life for a village he loved, and I will do the same." he paused for a moment before continuing. "I guess I will have to become Hokage in my next life instead."

Sasuke scoffed before looking up at the blond. "This is the second time I have died helping you." he said joking about their first real mission where he jumped in the way of Haku's senbon. "What ever you do Naruto don't give up on your dr-" his eyes widened and the last word he was going to speak failed to escape his lips.

"Sasuke!" Naruto yelled quickly moving to check his vitals but found no signs of life.

'**I'm sorry Naruto, but he's gone, the last of a cursed people. And one of the strongest there had ever been**.' Kurama said calmly.

"Another thing we had in common, both the last of our clan. Uzumaki and Uchiha." Naruto sighed refusing to shed anymore tears.

'**You are not the last Uzumaki, your clan may be scattered but it still lives on**.' Kyuubi assured the blond.

"Really, I would have liked to meet them, I guess that's not going to happen now, our chakra signature is too unique to survive in this world without anyone discovering who I am. Maybe one day if I return I will look for one of them I would like to meet one at least once. Well other than Kaa-san" Naruto replied.

'**Again you already have, Nagato. He was an Uzumaki, that is why he was able to withstand the overwhelming power of the Rinnegan. The will power of the Uzumaki clan is not something to be laughed at, I have seen that first hand for well over one hundred years**.' Kurama spoke with a smirk, thinking about Mito and Kushina, then all the times that Naruto had stood up to him in the recent past. He despised the boy for such a long time but during the war they had become friends. Now the fox looked back at Naruto's past in an almost endearing manner.

"I guess my clan was really something huh." Naruto huffed and slowly stood up. "You think you can find the cave Sasuke was talking about?"

'**I am sure that I could, but it would be best not to use my chakra around them.**' Kurama answered recalling how the versions of Zetsu were affected by Naruto's fox mode cloak.

"Yeah you're right, they all turned into those giant tree things." Naruto replied with a laugh. It may have been a weird transformation as the excess of life affirming energy had caused the white Zetsu to destabilize due to their connection with Hashirama Senju, the Shodai hokage. With that said the transformation made the Hashirama clones far easier to kill.

'**Use the Sage Mode taught to you by the toads, that should be enough to locate the cave**.' Kyuubi suggested.

Naruto nodded in agreement, the ability to draw nature chakra from the world around him gave Naruto sharp sensory capabilities, he could sense those around him for miles and the more he used this skill the stronger it became. The blond teen stood perfectly still while the freezing rain battered against his back, for several moments nothing happened, almost like he was a statue until the pigment around his eyes began to darken to a deep orange color. As Naruto opened his eyes the vibrant cerulean blue was gone, in it's place were brilliant golden orbs with a large jet black bar pupils. "I found it." he spoke calmly. It was a side effect of the use of senjutsu, you need to relax to the point that you become one with the world around you, making it rather difficult to not feel relaxed. Instantly Naruto's wounds began to heal several times faster than the accelerated healing capabilities awarded to him from his clan and enhanced by his partner.

'Then what are we waiting for, this needs to be done before the rain stops and you can be tracked by your sent.' Kyuubi warned.

"Right, it wouldn't do any good if we left a Zetsu clone here only for Kiba and Akamaru to find our trail." Naruto agreed and in the blink of an eye he was gone jumping through trees in the direction that Sasuke had indicated before he died.

It was only a short trip less than five minutes at the speed that Naruto was traveling. When he landed he found an undisturbed cliff face "This is it, they are inside. I just need to find an entrance." Naruto sighed as he began searching the area for a hole into the cave.

'**You know this isn't like you, why not just blast your way inside. It's not like killing a few would be a bad thing, they are just mindless husks now that their master is gone along with the original two halves.**' the fox reasoned.

"I guess you're right, it might be better for them if they were killed anyway, the last thing this world needs is more reminders of the Akatsuki." Naruto sighed before slamming his fist into the hard rocky surface of the cliff with the aid of a Senjutsu enhanced punch. Naruto tumbled through the wall as it cracked open with ease and found himself inside a immense underground hall, the floors were flat and so smooth that the blond was sure that this was no naturally occurring landmark. "Wow this place is huge!" Naruto said in awe. His voice echoed back at him from all directions as he marveled at the vast emptiness that stood before him.

'**That is relative, to you I am huge. This place was made large for a purpose, to store those Hashirama clones, if it was full you would say it was cramped**.' Kyuubi chuckled glad that something was taking Naruto's mind off of the dead Uchiha.

"You are huge, you can't say that everyone else is small just because you are so big, face it you are the minority in this instance." Naruto retorted.

Kyuubi scoffed but knew Naruto was just trying to irritate him for a laugh. '**As much as I would like to continue this ever so pointless discussion, I would like to point out that we have a job to do and time spent enjoying the sights is time wasted**.'

"Alright geez, for a guy who spends most of his time sleeping you sure are impatient." Naruto replied before starting to walk towards the location he felt Zetsu's chakra signature. At the very back of the hall Naruto found a spiraling staircase made of stone. "They are down here, but I can't sense any movement." he said as he began descending the staircase.

The room below was far smaller, Naruto could see all the way to the other side thanks to his enhanced vision while in Sage Mode. '**Well here they are. Looks like its well over one hundred, good thing we only need one.**' Kurama spoke in Naruto's mind.

Naruto nodded, the floor of the room was indeed filled with close to one hundred white Zetsu who all turned to face Naruto as he walked down the stairs yet remained impassive. "Um I'm no expert but shouldn't they be attacking me or something?" the blond asked.

'**It seems without their master they no longer have a purpose. Perhaps that is why Sasuke thought he could use them as his own.**' Kyuubi suggested upon landing at the base of the stairs.

Naruto shrugged agreeing that it was as good a theory as any he could come up with as he approached the closest Zetsu. "Hey you. Can you understand me?" he asked cautiously not willing to drop his guard for an instant with a room full of potentially deadly ninja. To answer his question the clone nodded slowly. "You will follow me and do as I say." this time it was a command, Naruto wanted to see how the soldiers of the former Akatsuki army would respond to such a statement.

For a few moments nothing happened. Several Zetsu clones shuffled around uncomfortably as if trying to find a little extra room in the crowded basement. But eventually the clone Naruto had ordered nodded in agreement. '**Well what do you know. These things were just waiting for someone to come along and control them. You could have a nice little personal army if you wanted**.' Kyuubi teased knowing that Naruto would never do something like that. Despite Naruto's wish to become Hokage he never desired power for the sake of being stronger than everyone or being feared. He simply wished to protect those precious to him. That had been his ideology ever since his first real mission as a Genin.

"No thanks Kurama, this must be a pitiful existence, just standing around waiting to be of some use to someone. At least while Zetsu's original body was alive they had some free will." Naruto answered. Turning back to the Zetsu clone Naruto quickly made his mind up on what he would do with the rest. "Wait for me upstairs." he ordered. The clone nodded and slowly ascended the spiraling staircase. Once he was gone Naruto created three clones of his own. "After I leave destroy this place so it is never found by anyone."

Naruto exited the room heading back up stairs and collected his new follower before exiting through the same entrance Naruto had made earlier. They wasted little time in heading back to where the blond knew Sasuke's dead body lay. He made it around half way before the memory of his clones bringing the cave down upon themselves and the Zetsu army hit him. The rain was still beating down as hard as ever by the time Naruto arrived in the clearing.

All the blood had been washed away from Sasuke's body giving the final Uchiha the appearance that he was merely sleeping and would awaken at any moment. Naruto quickly shook those thoughts off as they only proved to make the fact that Naruto had killed his best friend all the more painful. '**It's time Naruto, now or never**.' Kyuubi spoke his powerful voice holding a hint of sympathy for the boy.

"Right." Naruto agreed nodding his head. He approached Sasuke, bending down to pick up his Katana, the Zetsu clone following closely behind. "You can transform into anyone you have touched right?" he queried. The clone nodded in affirmation before Naruto spoke again. "Transform into me."

Instantly the white plantlike shinobi began to mutate, he became shorter and his skin began to tan. The last thing to change was his eyes and then Naruto was looking at a carbon copy of himself, even their chakra signatures matched perfectly. 'Do it Naruto, the longer you wait the harder it will be.' Kurama urged the blond on. Naruto hesitated for one last second knowing everything he was giving up before plunging Sasuke's blade into the clones stomach.

Naruto did the deed as quickly and painlessly as he could manage, the blade going up under the ribcage and piercing the heart. He watched slightly sickened as blood poured out from his own mouth and the perfect copy of himself hit the floor landing perfectly beside Sasuke. Despite Naruto's declaration not to shed anymore tears he couldn't help the one that escaped his eye as he looked down upon the scene. "Goodbye Sasuke, I am sorry that nobody will ever know the role that you played. In the end you were the one that will bring peace to this ninja world." he said, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath in to help control his emotions before turning to leave, running at full speed from the field of devastation that was once the sight of Naruto and Sasuke's final confrontation.

'**So where are we going?**' Kurama asked after a few moments.

'_I don't know_.' Naruto admitted talking inside his head for once. "I think I will head north, I heard there was a mountain range at the top most border of the Land of Earth, I guess I will head there." he decided after a few moments.

'**Yes I know the ones you are talking about, they are supposed to be insurmountable, rocks are constantly falling from their peaks causing small pebbles to fall all throughout the country. I believe they call it stone rain**.' Kyuubi mused.

"Wow how do you know so much?" Naruto asked in awe.

'**I have been alive for a very long time Naruto, it is only in my recent history that I have been sealed. If this is your choice of destination then I agree you will never be found if you make it past the great Iwa mountains. However, that is because nobody has ever survived climbing them, if they were not killed by a landslide or falling rocks, then the freezing cold and thin air near the peaks would finish them off.**' Kurama warned.

"Well then I guess it's a good thing that I have you to watch my back then." Naruto said believing now more than ever that this was the right decision.

Kyuubi chuckled deeply. '**I guess you are right, I can't have my first friend in well over two hundred years dying on the side of a mountain. With that said it will take several days even at this speed just to reach the base of the mountain and our chakra signature sticks out more than I do when we transform.**'

"Um what are you saying?" Naruto asked not liking where this was going.

'**I'm saying that before we get to the next village you are going to need to start actively suppressing your chakra and presence. We will have to act and travel like civilians until we are far enough north that our presence will go unnoticed**.' the large fox explained.

Naruto groaned, that would turn a week long trip into a month, but he could not deny Kurama's logic. "Alright, at least I have Gama-chan full with money so I can pay for transportation and buy supplies." the blond sighed in reluctant acceptance.

(**Several Hour's Later**)

"This must have been quite some fight." a heavily tanned teen sucking on a lollipop said as he looked around at the scene before him. Large craters scattered the landscape and all the trees had been burnt away to ash that was now soaked into the ground from the falling torrential rain.

"Heh of cause it was, this is Naruto were talking about, that idiot can never do anything without destroying something." a Konoha shinobi riding a large white dog laughed.

"Kiba this is hardly the time for jokes, we need to find Naruto and Sasuke." A teen with dark red hair and sea green eyes ordered.

Kiba knew better than to argue with the red head. "Sorry Kazekage-sama." he apologized.

"Kiba you may call me Gaara, a friend of Naruto's is a friend of mine." the Kazekage assured the shinobi riding the hound.

"But Naruto-sama is a hero, everyone considers him a friend, does that mean that nobody will call you Kazekage-sama again? What if one day you become offended by such an action and it sparks a war, all of the work done with village relations would be ruined." Omoi sighed.

The rest of the group looked at the Kumo shinobi as though he had an extra head. "Is he being serious?" a kunoichi with short dark brown hair and pink eyes without discernible pupils queried. She wore a tight red top with the right arm missing and a miniskirt with a lapel over her right leg. She also wore a standard Iwa flak jacket.

"I don't know. I would ask him, but if Mei-sama were here I am sure she would scold me for being rude." the final member of the group asked. He was by far the oldest of the group. He had gravity defying grayish blue hair an eye patch covering his right eye. A talisman hung from each ear that had the kanji for 'To Hear' inscribed on each. His outfit consisted of a dark green Kimono that he wore over striped green shirt and pants.

"This is no time for joking around, we need to find where Naruto is! That bastard who does he think he is coming out here alone!?" Kiba asked as he shouted out in frustration.

"It wouldn't have been Naruto if he didn't. He was determined to end things with Sasuke on his own terms." Gaara replied.

"That doesn't mean it wasn't a stupid thing to do. We saw that Uchiha go up against four of the Kage!" the Iwa kunoichi retorted.

Gaara nodded his head in agreement. "Naruto is far stubborn not to do something because others consider it stupid, Kurotsuchi. To him Sasuke was like a brother."

The older ninja began to grow impatient from the delay in their mission. '_In my day ninja would complete their mission before arguing about something so trivial._' "We don't have time for this, you Inuzuka can you find the boys scent?"

Kiba shook his head in frustration. "With all this rain any trail will be washed away." he admitted, with Akamaru barking in agreement.

"That makes things slightly harder, didn't you say you were the best tracker in your age group?" Kurotsuchi asked skeptically.

"I am! But what do trails do you expect me to find in this rain!?" Kiba snapped in reply.

"We should have brought Kakashi Hatake instead, he would be able to find his pupil. Every village opted to send one shinobi to join the team to bring Naruto back and Konoha sends you, the one Inuzuka that can't find someone in a desolate area." Kurotsuchi scoffed.

"Enough!" Gaara ordered commandingly. Kiba's caught his tongue as he gulped back his retort. "Ao can you locate Naruto and Sasuke with your Byakugan?"

Ao nodded once slowly a thick veins bulged out from under his eye patch. The others waited a few moments while Ao searched the area. "I found them." he said then deactivated his stolen eye. "About a mile to the north... their uh, not moving." he finished solemnly.

Gaara's eyes widened and widened and turned to suggest the head there as a group but Kiba was already gone, Akamaru bounding across the ashen, crater filled field that stood before them.

**End Chapter! **

**Yey new story. Unlike 'Nightfall' this will probably not be updated quite as regularly and will be seen as more of a side project that is until I finish my other stories. Still with any luck I will update once or twice a month. At least until I am done with my other stuff. **


	2. The Fallen Hero

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 2: The Fallen Hero**

A young man in his mid teens walked into a village. He looked around expecting to see shop keepers and civilians running around but all that he was met with was silence. "What's going on here?" Naruto asked. His voice seemed to echo back accenting just how quiet the village was.

His feet splashed in a deep puddle as he walked further into the village evidence of how far the effects of the storm brought about by his fight with Sasuke had traveled. '**Shinobi were fighting a war, did you expect the villagers in nearby counties to just sit in their homes and wait for the war to come to them? They left probably to some shelter set up for refugees.**' Kurama guessed.

Naruto looked at his reflection within a store window. Despite having his wounds healed from his fight with the last Uchiha he still looked like he had been through a war. "I need to get out of these clothes. Do you think they will mind if I just take some supplies and leave money behind?"

'**Considering collateral damage in a ninja war is usually high I am sure the people of this village would be happy if they came home and their homes were still standing.**' the fox chuckled.

"Do you think anyone would notice if I used a little chakra to create some clones to gather supplies?" the blond asked as he took out a small senbon to pick the lock on a door. This was one of the first lessons Jiraiya had taught him during their training trip although at the time Jiraiya just wanted to get in the back door of a women only bath house.

Kyuubi thought about it for a moment, he was torn between the risk of some joint shinobi scounting team picking up his chakra signature and wanting to move further away from possible detection. Naruto had stopped using chakra a few hours after leaving the dead bodies of Sasuke and his Zetsu clone. Since that time the trip had gone painfully slow. Civilians were slower than even an academy graduate Genin and that showed as it took almost twenty four hours just to reach this small village. '**Alright but be quick about it, and not more than three, one of you is enough to arouse suspicion.**' Kyuubi finally agreed.

Naruto nodded and created three seal less clones. "We need food, water and some camping supplies. With the speed we're going it could be a month before we make it to the Land of Earth and several days before we find a populated village. Oh and nothing too heavy, I need to act like a civilian after all." Naruto said before handing some money from Gama-chan his trusty toad wallet to each of the clones before entering the store. What instantly caught Naruto's attention was a dark orange and red armor plated top. Naruto stopped himself however. It was not something a civilian would wear after all, once he was out of the Elemental nations he could indulge in training and all the other activities that ninja so loved to do. "Do you think we will find people over those mountains Kurama?"

'**It's hard to say Naruto, Rikudou-Ojiisama never went over them. Maybe once Juubi was gone he was afraid he wouldn't survive? But I doubt he cared about something like that. He probably thought that the elemental nations were large enough. The further you spread yourself the more difficult your job becomes.**' Kyuubi spoke wisely.

In the end Naruto picked a plain set of black pants and a white T-shirt that had some orange and black flames at the hem. Into a pack he stored some rather warm looking thermal jumpers and track pants. Kyuubi might stop him from dying in the cold but he could still feel it. Naruto left the money on the counter along with a hastily written apology note being extra careful to make his writing unrecognizable from his normal script.

Once outside he found his clones had already returned carrying enough food and water to last several weeks and a very large yet compact tent. Naruto stored the supplies into a backpack and dispelled his clones. "Okay no more delays, lets get moving." he said hoisting his new pack onto his back and casually set off only thing guiding him was a vague sense of direction and Kyuubi scolding him if he ever got turned around.

(**Elsewhere**)

The Joint Shinobi Headquarters had been a extra busy, shinobi were coming and going delivering reports and the field hospital was filled to the brim with the injured including several Kage among them.

Despite all the casualties and injured there was a jovial spirit in the air. The war was over and the villages had never been closer, old wounds that had divided them seemed so petty now, and they all had a new hero, a young teen from Konoha who had ended the war. Those at headquarters eagerly awaited the blonds return so much so that the shinobi currently running each village asked for one volunteer to help retrieve him.

In what seemed like a cruel joke of fate two Konoha chunin sat on guard duty at the entrance to the headquarters. "Do you ever feel like we are being punished for something?" Kotetsu asked his head banging on the desk after letting yet another group of shinobi into the large camp.

"Maybe, but it could be worse, I mean sure it's boring but at least it's safe, look at the state that the Kage's came back in only Kazekage-sama was walking. Still it was cruel for Kakashi to put us on guard duty." Izumo replied.

"Maybe he just knows how good we are at it." Kotetsu suggested.

"No that can't be it. I could have walked right past you two and entered the camp unnoticed about twenty times by now." a Konoha jounin joked handing over some papers to get marked.

"That's cold Aoba." Izumo sighed.

The jounin laughed pocketing the papers he needed before turning to gaze out into the distance. "Still no sign of our local hero huh?" he asked.

"No not yet, it's been over a day now, I'm half expecting to see him running up shouting about how he will have to be the next Hokage now." Kotetsu joked causing the others to laugh remembering the loud mouthed little brat that was constantly boasting about how he would be the next Kage of Konoha.

"Heh well everyone is getting eager for his return, even the shinobi from other villages are planning a surprise party for him. Although I guess you two will be on guard duty." Aoba chuckled. As the Konoha jounin turned to leave he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Three figures slowly approaching. Then a second later another two.

"Hey it's them! Kazekage-sama and the retrieval team!" Kotetsu yelled standing up. He must have been louder than he thought because less than a second later shinobi were pouring out from every angle to get a better look. "Hey I don't see anyone that looks like the Hero of the elemental nations. I was told he had glorious golden hair and bright blue eyes." a young Kiri kunoichi said with a slight blush obviously she had been listening to stories told about Naruto by several more enamored Konoha Genin.

Regardless of the young girls obvious fangirl tendencies most of the others agreed. It was not until the retrieval team got closer did they realize that the group were surrounding a large hovering stretcher made of sand. Instantly two medics shot forward, one with pink hair wearing an all red outfit and the other a brunette that was followed closely by a small pig.

The group watched in wonder as Sakura landed beside the Kazekage. "I'm sorry Sakura we were too late." he said quietly while Shizune began scanning the two bodies for signs of life.

A worried murmur swept through the crowd and sadness followed after as Sakura fell to her knees already lost in sorrow. "He lost?" one shinobi asked. "Impossible Naruto-sama never loses." a Konoha Chunin replied. The group parted as Gaara walked through the gate and they saw both Naruto and Sasuke lying lifeless on a bed of sand. The Kazekage's face was a mask but inside he was crying just as heavily as Sakura.

The group followed Gaara as he walked getting larger by the second several shinobi openly wept at the sight of Naruto's corpse while others stayed stoic as a sign of respect for their fallen comrade. Finally Gaara came to the center of the camp, he had spoken here once before to inspire the troops before they went to war, this time he would address them that the war was over. He created a large pedestal and placed Naruto's body atop before moving Sasuke's out of the way. Anger towards the Uchiha clan was at an all time high and they didn't need a reminder of who killed Naruto staring them in the face while he spoke. "Today marks the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Although it was short it was nevertheless brutal and we all suffered, many lost their lives and many more were injured. Yet when things seemed to be at there worst, we pulled together to come out victorious!"

There was a light smattering of cheering but it was subdued by the presence of Naruto's body lying on a platform made of sand. All the shinobi that fought remembered how Naruto's clones arrived at the various fronts and almost singlehandedly turned the tied of the war.

Gaara took a moment to compose himself before continuing. "Despite the joy that has come with defeating the Akatsuki and saving the elemental nations from almost certain destruction I cannot celebrate. Last night a man I was honored to call a friend, fought and died to help bring this world some measure of peace. Naruto Uzumaki will be sorely missed and I will do everything in my power to make sure his death was not in vein." Gaara spoke. This time the applause was much louder and so was the crying that was spreading through the amassed shinobi. "Naruto was not like other shinobi, he changed people, he changed me. He met me at a time when I was unsure of my purpose in life, I tried so hard to kill him when Suna attacked Konoha." he couldn't help but laugh at the memory of the stupid blond Genin that refused to give up, but then his laugh caught in his throat and he was forced to stifle a sob. "But then he did something that changed me. He defeated me, a boy everyone considered a loser defeated Suna's weapon, and then after all that, he called me his friend." the Kazekage choked out the last word as the sand armor around his eyes began to feel damp against his skin.

The shinobi below were staring at Gaara listening with rapt attention to his heart felt eulogy. For someone as cold and detached as the Kazekage to show any emotion was something else, and it showed what effect Naruto had on the young man from Suna.

Pausing one last time to calm himself Gaara took in a deep breath he had never found it this difficult to control his emotions before. "Naruto was everything that I want to be as a leader and more, he was the best of us." he said before creating a flower made of sand and placing placing it on his friends chest. With that done Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand wanting to be alone.

At the very back of the army a hooded figure stood in disbelief. '_I came all the way out here to find them, and now they are both dead!? Something is wrong here, that body may have the same chakra signature as Naruto but it doesn't feel right. His chakra was so bright, almost like looking directly into the sun, this chakra is gray and flat, as lifeless as that body is._' the hooded figure thought skeptically before stepping back into the shadows.

Two more sets of eyes looked on bewildered by what they were seeing before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

(**Several Hours Later**)

Naruto's body still lay atop the pedestal that Gaara had created but now all around the base flowers and weapons were offered up as a tribute to the blond. Each village had a different custom and different ways of honoring a fallen comrade and while the Kumo and Konoha shinobi drank to celebrate the life of the lost one. Iwa shinobi would mourn in silence not a peep could be heard from their tents. The Kiri shinobi participated in mock battles that would have once been fights to the death to honor the fallen and Suna shinobi said prayers in hopes that Naruto's next life would be one of peace.

"How did he die?" Kakashi asked sitting up in his hospital bed.

Sakura's eyes were red from crying as she checked over his wounds. "It looks like Sasuke stabbed him in the heart. But we won't know for sure until we can do a proper autopsy" she sobbed.

"I see." Kakashi said his exposed eye drooping. "And Sasuke?"

"Ruptured organs resemble wounds caused by a rasengan." she cried again, yet no tears would come.

Kakashi nodded. '_Was this really the only way Naruto?_' he asked thinking back to the talk they had before Naruto left.

(**Flashback**)

Naruto stood at the base of Kakashi's bed, the Copycat had woken just a few hours earlier after sever chakra exhaustion. "I found Sasuke." Naruto said with a calm sense of determination in his voice.

"You did?" Kakashi asked in bewilderment.

"Well actually it was Kurama. I am going to sneak out at sundown and confront him." the blond replied.

"You don't have to do this Naruto. You told me what you saw would happen if you were to fight Sasuke seriously again." Kakashi said clearly concerned for his student.

"I know, but I'm okay with it. I have been thinking a lot lately about the quest Nagato and Ero-sennin left for me. I think this is the answer." Naruto replied with a small smile.

"How can your death be the answer! don't be foolish Naruto. Do you know what everyone is saying about you? They call you the Hero of the Elemental Nations. You can bring peace another way." Kakashi whispered desperately trying to change his students mind.

Naruto smiled affectionately at his sensei but shook his head. "There are two things that will lead to peace. Understanding each other, and pain. With this war I think the shinobi of this world are starting to understand one another. But they need something to hold them together once the villages split back up. The memory of a joint loss. They call me the Hero of the Elemental Nations, so my death as a hero will do more good than living as a potential threat in Konoha."

Kakashi could understand the boys reasoning and as much as he hated it, he was going to accept his choice. "What about becoming a ninja and Kage greater than all the Hokage before him?" he asked but already knew that Naruto had an answer.

Naruto sighed, he knew that leaving would mean that his dream to be Hokage never became a reality. "Ero-sennin once told me that a ninja is not judged by how he lives, but by how he dies. I think if I can die and bring peace to this ninja world then I will have accomplished that dream." he said solemnly.

"You know as acting Hokage I can stop you right." Kakashi chuckled knowing this was probably the last time he would be able to talk to the blond.

"I know, but you wont." Naruto laughed in return. He stopped as he made it to the entrance to Kakashi's tent. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you. For everything."

(**End Flashback**)

"Sakura, can you get me a new Hitai-ate?" Kakashi said slowly standing up from his hospital bed.

"Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked not sure what he sensei was planing.

"I want to give mine to Naruto." he said grabbing a crutch and hobbling out of his tent.

(**Two Days Later**)

"Kami this is taking forever! Can't I just use a little chakra to go faster?" Naruto begged.

'**No, you're still well inside the range of the shinobi scouts. Now stop complaining and keep moving.**' Kurama scolded the boy.

"Oh come on it's not like anyone will find me if I use Sage Mode." Naruto replied.

The blond was waiting for the tongue lashing from the Kyuubi but what he wasn't expecting was to be knocked to the ground by a small toad with a rolling pin and frizzy purple hair. "Naruto-chan! What do you think you are doing!?" the small toad croaked loudly.

"Ma I'm sure Naruto-chan has his reasons. Though I fail to see what they are." a second toad spoke up this one with bushy gray hair and eyebrows to match.

"Fu-Fukusaku-sama? Shima-sama?" Naruto gasped wondering why the two elder Toad Sages were currently standing over him.

"Hai. Now ya got some explaining ta do ma boy." Fukusaku said crossing his arms.

"You can trick shinobi but you you can't trick us Naruto-chan, your name is still on our summoning wall." Shima added gripping her rolling pin threateningly.

Naruto sighed and began explaining everything that had happened in his fight with Sasuke up to the point he left the clearing. "I figured this way the Grand Geezer Toad would still be right. I died in my fight with Sasuke and I can bring peace to the ninja world." he finished as if trying to justify his actions.

"Stupid boy, who cares what that senile old coot says. You should be the next Hokage not on the run trying to avoid detection. Do you know how hard it was to find you!?" Shima yelled angrily raising the rolling pin over her heard ready to strike, causing Naruto to flinch and cower.

"Ma, enough, Naruto-chan has made the right decision. Where will you go?" Fukusaku asked.

"He could come live on Myoboku, if we ever get another summoner he could help teach them, only the strongest will do for the toads now after you, Jiraiya-chan, and Minato-chan." Shima said hopefully.

Naruto paled, not because the thought of living amongst the toads was unpleasant no he would be welcomed with open arms and live out his days in a virtual paradise. But he would never be able to stomach the, unique, local food that Shima always insisted on cooking. "Sorry Shima but even there I could be discovered. I'm going over the insurmountable mountains north of Iwa, out of the Elemental Nations."

"Naruto-chan that's suicide, they are called the Insurmountable Mountains for a reason." Fukusaku said firmly.

"Nah I'll be fine, I have Kurama to watch my back." Naruto said with a smile that seemed to give off a warm sense of confidence.

"Who?" Shima asked.

"Oh right, the Kyuubi's name is Kurama, he's not a bad guy once you get to know him." the blond said with his fox like grin.

"Really? I guess if anyone can befriend the fox it would have to be you. Good luck Naruto-chan, and don't hesitate to call on us if you need something." Fukusaku declared.

"Pa we can't let him do this. He should be being praised as a hero not going off to die on the side of some Kami forsaken mountain!" Shima yelled.

"Ma, Naruto-chan will not die. I believe in him, and so should you. Your secret is safe with us Naruto-chan but remember, no peace lasts forever. A change for the better today could become a noose around the neck tomorrow." with that final warning Fukusaku and Shima disappeared leaving Naruto once more alone.

"Ah I should have known the Toads would find me out." Naruto sighed turning his attention back onto the road.

'**I am more surprised that they were able to find you, those little toads had more skill than I gave them credit for**.' Kurama admitted.

"Yeah nothing gets past Fukusaku-sama. His mastery of Senjutsu is at such a high level that if he focuses, he can feel life force rather than just chakra." Naruto replied. The talk with the two elder toads had put Naruto in a good mood, it was comforting to know he still had some small part of his old life that he could take with him. He was the holder of the Toad Summoning Contract after all. Which meant that he could still summon and talk to all the toads he had worked with and come to know over the years. All of a sudden the laborious pace that he was setting no longer seemed to be such a chore.

(**Meanwhile**)

A hooded figure stood in a large open clearing. All around was burnt and scarred earth. '_Amazing, this was the result of Naruto and Sasuke's fight?_' the hooded figure asked themselves while scanning the area.

Following the path of destruction led the shinobi to the place the two bodies were found. "There has to be some sort of clue here. I don't know who that was back at that shinobi camp but it wasn't Naruto. I have felt Naruto's chakra and it was completely different."

The hooded figure spent hours on end searching high and low for any sign of a chakra trail or life only to come up empty. But just as they were giving up hope a feint chakra signature so dull it more than likely only residual chakra left within a dying body. That was not what made the hooded figure excited however. It was how the chakra felt. '_Gray and lifeless, just like the body of Naruto that the Kazekage had_.' the shinobi thought taking off at full pace in the direction of the chakra signature.

The shinobi jumped from tree to tree before they came to an area that looked as though it had been disturbed recently. Fallen trees scattered across the ground and the soil was uneven and loose like rubble.

"It was around here I am sure of it." the shinobi said to themselves before scanning once more for chakra signatures. "It's underground!" anticipation was building, every time the shinobi removed a stone the prospect of discovering the truth seemed a little closer. The problem was even for a shinobi unless they have a Doton affinity digging half a mile underground is going to take a considerable amount of time.

Hours past like minutes as the shinobi continued to dig deeper into the earth. But finally the persistence paid off. A pale white arm came limply into view. The shinobi was so tired from digging it took a few minutes to fully realize what they had found. "It can't be" pulling back some strands of deep red hair that fell from the hood of the cloak the shinobi continued to dig until the head that belonged to the arm was revealed. "Zetsu! So that's how you did it. You're alive Naruto, and I am going to find you!"

**End chapter!**

**Thought I would give everyone a second taste of this fic. But I ask that from here out you a patient, Unlike the Toad Sages Apprentice and Nightfall this is set completely outside of Cannon so i do not have any guidelines. This will be both liberating and challenging at the same time, as such I will need more time to write a more complete story than with the others which is why I will not be able to update as fast. It will not be a cross over and I will not be ignoring the other characters. More like having both Naruto's story and the Elemental Nations story running in tandem. **

**I know It will be difficult to keep the level of story telling high but what's life without a challenge or two. The best way to improve as a writer and story teller is to take on more difficult tasks and I just hope I don't let anyone down. Thanks for Reading**


	3. Keep Moving

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 3: Keep Moving**

Several weeks had passed since Naruto's supposed death at the hands of Sasuke Uchiha. His body had been moved after the first night so the medics could perform and autopsy and give a definitive cause of death. However in place of Naruto's body Gaara had constructed a sand statue of the blond and shinobi were still constantly coming up to pay their respects leaving Hatai-ate following the lead of Kakashi Hatake, or other symbols of respect. Naruto had saved many lives with the help of Kurama and many wanted to show their appreciation, for them this was the least they could do.

Little did they know the same boy they were mourning as a fallen hero was currently not only alive but having a heated discussion with his inner beast. "I'm telling you everyone will be at the Headquarters until all the Kage are recovered from their fight with that Edo Tensei Madara. We are far from anyone I should be able to use a little chakra to help me get to a populated village, I'm running out of food I only have four packets of ramen left!" the boy thought out loud, while there was nobody around Naruto didn't mind talking to his partner as if he was sitting beside him.

'**I keep telling you that it will not only be the Alliance ninja on the lookout for stray shinobi. Lesser villages will see this as a chance to strengthen themselves, if your plan fails and the great shinobi villages do not come together as you hope then the world will descend into another war for power. No more jinchuuriki gives the smaller villages less to fear. It would not surprise me if they target one of the great nations in an attempt to seize power**.' Kurama reasoned.

"But why does that matter? We can defeat anyone that we come across." Naruto whined in frustration, the last few weeks had been the hardest he'd had since before he was a Genin.

'**Naruto don't be a fool! You might be strong but that doesn't mean you are invincible. Although with my help we are pretty damn close**.' Kurama said finishing with a confident smirk. '**You agreed that this was the best way now stop acting like a broken record and keep walking, we can't be far from the Land of Earth now, once we're there we should be able to find a faster way to travel. And just think of what would happen if you drew on my chakra, a decent sensory ninja could still find us as we are if they were looking hard enough and drawing on my chakra would be like lighting a come and get me signal**.' The fox continued.

"Gah I think I liked you better when you were tying to ruin all my plans." Naruto pouted knowing that the Bijuu was right. Deciding to once more give up on arguing to the ever present voice of reason in his head Naruto continued to run at what was the pace of an average civilian or a very slow Genin.

'**You know, I enjoyed that too. Let's do it again some time**.' Kyuubi chuckled, causing Naruto to fall over in shock that the great Kyuubi actually made a joke.

(**Meanwhile**)

Unknown to Kurama and Naruto there was indeed a very talented sensory tracker on their trail although for the last few weeks all leeds they had followed had come up empty. "This is the last village in the area, if he didn't stop here then he would have run out of food." a Hooded ninja spoke taking out a map that had several points marked with red pins indicating villages that had no signs of Naruto's presence.

"Still nothing!" the hooded ninja sighed in frustration as they moved through the village. "Maybe I should just give up." the figure said coming to a halt removing the hood to reveal a kunoichi with dark blood red hair that was well groomed on one side and rather messy on the other. She had a pair of glasses over ruby red eyes. "No I can't give up, if I give up I'm doomed! I'm the last member of the Akatsuki after all. If anyone finds me I'm dead, that's why I need to find Naruto. If I can convince him to forgive me then, he can tell everyone and I can live a normal life." she decided with confidence.

Her confidence was short lived however as a new stumbling block occurred. "But he faked his own death, what am I supposed to tell people, Your hero forgave me and I never meant any harm in the first place, I was just led along by Sasuke-kun? Ah even I don't believe that one." she yelled in frustration rubbing a hand through the messy side of her hair in frustration. "This is all ruining my plan, I wanted to find Naruto before he fought with Sasuke-kun to help him, then I would have been considered an ally rather than an escaped prisoner of war!"

Little did the Kunoichi know there were several pairs of eyes watching her. And she was in for quite a shock when a young boy around six walked out from a dark allyway. "You sure do talk to yourself a lot lady." the boy said, he was short and had messy brown hair that ran down to his shoulders as though it hadn't been cut in months and he wore dark blue shorts and a red top that had a Yin Yang symbol on the back.

Karin jumped, drawing a kunai and completely astounded that she had let someone sneak up on her. At the sight of the kunai the kid yelped and a middle aged woman and man ran out from a different hiding location and covered their son, a look of terror on their faces. "We're sorry, please forgive our son Kunoichi-sama.' the woman begged. She had long brown hair the same color as her sons and dark green eyes that were almost black, her husband had black spiky hair and a scraggy beard to match, both parents wore brown tops and pants that helped them blend in with the buildings and remain hidden.

"Um I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you, I'm just not used to being startled like that. Please call me Karin." the red haired kunoichi said breathing out a sigh of relief that they were only civilians.

"Well Karin, I am Uzimo, and my wife's name is Kara, this is our son Uzika. We would feel a little more comfortable if you would put the knife away." the husband said slowly.

'_Knife? Oh, the Kunai. These two mustn't have had much contact with shinobi in their life_.' Karin realized returning the blade to it's pouch. "There we go, better?"

"Much" Uzimo nodded finally standing along with his wife.

"What bring's you out here Karin? Its been days since one of your ninja scouting teams came this way." Kara questioned still slightly shaken up at the sight of the kunoichi drawing her blade.

"I'm looking for someone." Karin answered. "But I think the trails gone cold." she admitted.

"Ah that is always the risk in war, it's a horrible thing, that only takes lives long before their time. Who are you looking for? A loved one?" Uzimo asked.

"No nothing like that, I am just searching for someone that can save my life." Karin admitted.

"Save your life? You don't look sick." the young boy said with a puzzled look on his face.

"And fortunately I am not, but you see awhile back I did some things for a man that I thought I loved. Looking back at them now I am not very proud of what I have done, and because of that should the wrong people find me I will be killed." Karin admitted sadly.

Once more the parents became rather suspicious of the kunoichi but they took her remorse as genuine and knew that love made people do crazy things. "Love makes fools of us all dear, but how can finding this person help you?" Kara queried.

"Well the thing is, the person I am looking for is considered a great hero now, one word from him and I can be spared, the thing is I have no idea where he is, this was my last hope." Karin sighed lowering her head.

"A few people have come through here, we stayed behind when the rest of the village fled so anyone who has come into town I have watched. I'm a great sneaker, so I have been watching them hoping to see some cool ninja stuff, most people have been really boring though." the small boy admitted.

A glimmer of hope, Karin raised her head and looked at the boy expectantly. "I'm looking for a boy around my age with spiky blond hair, and blue eyes, he would have three thin whisker like marks on each cheek." she said trying to recall the blond she met the day Sasuke had almost killed her.

"Oh yeah I saw him! He talked to himself a lot as well, but he was even weirder. He kept asking questions then acting like he was given an answer. It was like he was talking to someone that wasn't even there. I wanted to yell at him for breaking into several of the stores but Kaa-san stopped me." Uzika replied with a smile.

"You did!? Did he say anything about where he was going?" Karin asked urgently. '_Please know something!_'

"Um I think he said something about the Land of Earth and some mountains, I was distracted because he did this awesome thing where he created copies of himself and sent them around the village to collect equipment." the boy said eagerly happy that he was able to help.

Karin's eyes widened she had a lead, and a good one, if she could get close enough to him there was no hiding a chakra like Naruto's from her. "How long ago was he here?" she asked wanting to gauge how far behind she was.

"He was here about two weeks ago give or take a day or two." Kara answered for her son who was busy trying to count the days on his hands.

Karin nodded. "Thank you I have to go. Please don't tell anyone that you saw me." she said and just like that she was gone her hood back up and sprinting at full speed through the village. '_Two weeks I am pretty far behind, but he can't be moving too fast otherwise I would have picked up on a chakra trail. That said I need to hurry, this is my only hope of leading a normal life without looking over my shoulder constantly in fear._'

(**Land of Lightning**)

The joint shinobi task force headquarters had been growing steadily over the past few days more and more wounded were still arriving alone with the dead, bodies were slowly being separated in order to be returned to their respective villages and all names were taken down in plans of a memorial that would be raised in the Land of Iron to commemorate the fallen. All of this meant that the medic ninja were still far more busy than all the others put together. Some more so than others. Shizune and Sakura who were left in charge of the field hospital as Tsunade's apprentices were constantly running from one bed to another helping out and instructing other medics of their duty.

Sakura had not slept in days. Every time she closed her eyes all she saw was the scene of Gaara leading the funeral procession and the lifeless corpses of Naruto and Sasuke. She had wanted to do the Autopsy personally but Shizune denied her request saying that they were both emotionally compromised which meant that mistakes could be made. In the end they left the Autopsy to medics from Suna and Kumo. The report was fairly straight forward, Sasuke was killed by a jutsu of high destructive power that ruptured several organs and rearranged them at the same time. For Sakura that only meant one thing, Rasengan. And Naruto had been killed by a blade traveling through his heart and lungs causing almost instant death. '_They both said it, on the river that day when I failed to kill Sasuke-kun, if they fought again they would both die. This is my fault, why did I have to be so weak!_' the pink haired medic thought as tears threatened to fall from her face once more.

"You know Naruto wouldn't want to see you crying." a lazy almost bored voice travelled across the tent. Sakura turned to see Shikamaru enter the tent a cigarette in his mouth but not lit.

"I can't help it, If I had been stronger than Naruto wouldn't have died." Sakura wept.

Shikamaru sighed folding his arms behind his head as he walked into the room. "Maybe, but then maybe Naruto needed Sasuke, they each became stronger to prove they were better than the other. If you had killed him then Naruto may have died in the war anyway or maybe when he was fighting Kyuubi for control of its charka. It's to troublesome to say." Shikamaru sighed.

"So you're saying the fact they are both dead is a good thing?" Sakura spat.

"Hardly, Naruto was one of my best friends. But look at it this way, it was Naruto's choice to fight Sasuke alone, and he knew the most likely outcome was that they would both die. In spite of that he went out and did what he thought was right, and if that means that he died then I respect him all the more for it." Shikamaru said.

"If? What do you mean If he died? You have seen the body." Sakura said her eyes red from the tears.

Shikamaru shrugged. "It just seems rather weird that Naruto would be killed by a sword. From what I had seen there was no way Kyuubi would let Naruto die like that. But maybe I'm wrong, it's far too troublesome to argue with a dead body." he sighed pausing for a moment to light up his smoke.

"Well what's the alternative? Naruto has abandoned Konoha?" Sakura scoffed knowing Naruto far too well to ever think he would do something like that.

"It's possible, Naruto is not a dumb as most people tend to believe, he always had a way to win no matter the odds and then always seemed to bring people closer together. His death is no exception, representatives from each of the villages are coming together in hopes of extending the alliance in Naruto's honor. If he thought his death could bring happiness to the world he may have welcomed it, faking his death and going on the run. At least that is what I choose to believe, maybe I am just in denial." Shikamaru said before walking past Sakura who stood stunned and heading to check on Choji who was suffering from chakra exhaustion but was otherwise healthy in comparison to many occupants of Sakura's medical tent.

Sakura stood unmoving for a few moments, Shikamaru had always been the smartest person she knew but what he was saying was absurd, there were no signs of a trail leading away from the sight that Naruto and Sasuke had been found and only two bodies. Shaking off the lazy genius's theory she decided that she would go see the last person to talk to Naruto alive, her sensei.

Kakashi had been allowed to leave the medical tents and was currently in command of the Konoha shinobi as acting Hokage. This was not all that difficult as a job but Kakashi was not overly fond of receiving constant updates from shinobi doing mundane missions or making small decisions that he really didn't care about, like where the Inuzuka would keep their dogs as they were not allowed in the shinobi tents.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura yelled to get the Copycat ninja's attention.

Kakashi turned giving his best eye smile at the same time. "Yo." he said with a small wave as Sakura came to a halt in front of the temporary Hokage. "Is there any news on Tsunade-sama's condition?" he asked becoming quite serious.

Sakura's face dropped and she shook her head. "No she's still in a coma, the length of time she needed to use her Creation Rebirth Seal for such a long time against the Edo Tensei Madara that we can't say for sure if she will ever wake up." she admitted sadly.

"I see, I was hoping she would be awake before the Daimyo from each country get here for official peace talks. The Kage's are all required to attend, which has some of the villages in a strife. Oonoki, and A, didn't survive the war and they need a new Tsuchikage and Raikage." Kakashi sighed shaking his head. The three eldest Kage would not be available to take part in any peace talks and that would mean that Mei and Gaara were the longest serving Kage, fortunately Mifune from the Land of Iron was in perfect health and willing to oversee the discussions in hopes that the great nations could come to an agreement.

"I heard that the Hachibi Jinchuuriki was selected as the next Raikage." Sakura said.

Kakashi nodded in agreement. "Yes he was. He is a promising choice, he shares Naruto's desire to see peace in this world. But Iwa have yet to decide on a Tsuchikage, Oonoki was in charge longer than most of them had been alive so I believe that they will wait for their Daimyo to have the last word, I just hope who ever is put in charge won't be difficult to work with if I am stuck as Hokage." he said chuckling lightly at the end while hoping silently that Tsunade would wake up and save him from a life of responsibility that he did not want anymore.

"Actually Sensei I wanted to talk to you about Naruto. I was just talking to Shikamaru and he said some things that have me thinking." Sakura admitted looking at her feet to avoid the look of sadness she knew would have crossed her sensei's face.

"What did he say?" Kakashi asked calmly. He did not mind talking about Naruto, he was sad he had lost his pupil but he was also so proud of the boy for everything he achieved, against all the adversity he had come across. In Kakashi's eyes Naruto had accomplished more than he ever would, he finally understood why Jiraiya thought of himself as a failure. Both of their failures seemed so large when compared to successes.

"He said that Naruto's death didn't make any sense, Kyuubi would have stopped him dying from a sword wound. And then I thought about it, when Naruto fought Orochimaru he attempted to kill him with that sword of his, Kusanagi, but it couldn't pierce Kyuubi's chakra cloak." Sakura paused for a moment making sure she stayed strong. "Then he questioned if Naruto didn't let himself be killed, or even fake his death."

Kakashi nodded. "Yes Sakura that is possible." he admitted. He took a moment to gauge his last remaining pupil before continuing. "Naruto has always tried to keep every promise he has made. He has made some rather big ones, but always done his best to bring them about. He saved Konoha and my life when he was fighting Pe- I mean Nagato by promising to bring peace to the world. His death was the answer, he left to fight Sasuke not only knowing that he might die but ready to embrace it. If things did not go as planned, he could have found a way to fake his death, and flee." he reasoned although he did not believe it to be true.

"But then we should look for him!" Sakura shouted, startling some nearby Kiri shinobi.

Kakashi shook his head, "This was Naruto's choice, if he is dead then I am wiling to accept that. But if he is alive I will happily welcome him back should he ever decide to return. He thought this was how he could bring peace to the world and if he is right then who am I to mess with his plan." he said calmly.

Sakura found this rather hard to accept. For her it sounded as though Kakashi was giving up on Naruto and letting him get away. "And what if that Baka is wrong?"

"Then it is up to us to make sure he isn't." it was not Kakashi's voice that answered the pink haired kunoichi, but that of Gaara.

"Kazekage-sama! I didn't see you there." Sakura admitted with a small bow.

"That is an interesting theory you have, one that I would welcome. However just like Kakashi I agree that Naruto should be left alone, alive or dead he has done his duty for the Elemental Nations and now deserves a rest." Gaara said.

"Kazekage-sama it is good to see you again." Kakashi said, happy that Gaara had come to his aid.

"I believe if I am not mistaken you are Hokage now, we share a rank of equal importance. Also please call me Gaara." the Kazekage said kindly, yet in his constant monotone. "Anyway if you would excuse us Sakura I have things to discuss with the acting hokage." he finished.

Sakura nodded and turned to leave still not sure about what to think. She had seen Naruto's body with her own eyes, but then again she had seen many things over the last few weeks that defied logic. '_Naruto if you are alive I am going to kill you myself for this!_'

(**Two Days Later**)

Naruto had officially run out of food the night before, fortunately he had the skills to set a trap and caught himself some food. Still the wild rabbit he had captured did not have a lot of meat on its bones. "Kami I would sell a tail worth of your chakra for a bowl of Ichiraku Ramen." the blond wailed as he followed an abandoned road, he had entered the Land of Earth earlier that day but had yet to come across even a small town.

'**That's Ironic because I would sell a tail worth of my chakra for you to stop complaining all the time**.' Kyuubi replied.

"Sure, but that would only solve your problem, if I had ramen we would both be happy." Naruto pouted before laughing along with his Bijuu. They walked a bit further in quiet before something caught his eye, a tall red tower poking up above the trees in the distance. After another minute a second could be seen. "Sweet Kami it's a village." Naruto practically shouted picking up the pace as much as he could without giving away any ninja training.

The blond jinchuuriki arrived at a small closed gate, outside two village guards stood in battle armor. Slowing down to a walk Naruto began to wonder if this wasn't a bad idea, he had no identification papers. "Hold it." one of the guards said forcing Naruto to come to a halt. "State your business here, the Land of Earth is currently at war."

Naruto had to think quickly, not his best trait. '**Tell them you're a refugee from one of the countries effected by the war.**' Kurama quickly suggested, knowing Naruto's weakness for coming up with a lie on the spot.

"I'm a refugee from the border of the Land of Sound, I have been coming to the Land of Earth to stay with some relatives until I can get back on my feet." Naruto declared.

One of the other guards leaned in and whispered something to the man that Naruto guessed was in charge. "Very will as a refugee I'll allow you to enter, but you need to enter your name down on this form and pay one thousand Ryo." the leader of the guards declared.

'_This is a scam. I bet I don't need to pay anything, you can see it painted all over their faces_.' Naruto thought angrily.

'**I know, but pehaps you should simply pay them, if you need more money later you can summon one of the toads to help you out**.' Kurama interjected to prevent Naruto from giving himself away.

"That almost cleans me out, but I need to get in to find passage north to my relatives." Naruto lied handing the money over to the man in charge. He then picked up a pen for and scribbled a fake name before entering into the village.

The fist thing Naruto noticed was that the people seemed to be few and far between and the ones that were out and about moved about as quickly as they could manage. 'They must be afraid that the war will come this way.' Naruto reasoned.

'**Maybe. I am sure that most of the countries involved have been given word that the war is over. But it is possible that a small village such as this one would not have received any news from the war as of yet.**' Kurama suggested.

'_So what's the plan then?_' Naruto asked.

'**In and out as quickly as we can. Go buy some supplies just in case we have to walk. Then check out all the local caravans, and pay one for transport north**.' the Kyuubi answered calmly.

Naruto nodded and went to work determined to get as much supplies as he could realistically carry without drawing attention to himself. The prices were very expensive, but Naruto didn't complain, he had just guessed that they were doing their best in a time of uncertainty and knew that being a village close to the border of the Land of Earth had a high likelihood of being attacked should the war have come this way.

Wasting no time Naruto found a large general store to resupply his food. Much to the ire of Kurama Naruto insisted on a large quantity of ramen the large fox would have tried to force Naruto to buy some more food that would have been substantially better for the blond but figured that once they made it over the mountains at the top of the Land of Earth he may never eat his precious noodle broth again. Once the food was collected Naruto was ready to leave, the longer he stayed in one spot the more likely it would be that he was discovered by some Iwa ninja, maybe returning home from the war.

It was quite fortunate that the people were more than helpful in this regard an elderly woman directed Naruto towards an area of the town where she knew a group of traveling business men heading north were gathered. "Excuse me, I was wondering how far north this caravan is traveling?" Naruto asked a tall bald man once he arrived at the place he had been directed.

The bald man turned around and cast a doubtful eye over the blond. "We travel as far north as we feel is necessary to sell our wears." he said firmly.

Naruto nodded. "In that case, could I barter passage north on your caravan? I am willing to both pay for the ride and work if needed. I'm far stronger than I look believe it."

"Why do you want to go north anyway?" the balm man asked contemplating Naruto's request.

"I'm heading north to stay with some relatives, my home was destroyed in the war." Naruto lied quite convincingly.

"Show me the money, five hundred Ryo and I will take you as far as I go." the caravan owner said.

Naruto pulled out half and handed it to the man. "Half now and Half when we part ways." the blond said not wanting to be tricked by the man.

The bald man laughed a hearty laugh and patted Naruto on the shoulder. "You're a businessman I see, I like that. The names Asahi."

"Uh Ruto Ikaze" Naruto replied using the fake name he placed on the gate guards form.

"Well then Ruto, get to work and help me pack, the sooner we leave the sooner you get to where your going and I get payed." Asahi declared clapping Naruto on the back with surprising strength.

**End Chapter!**

**I keep meaning to put this story on the back burner yet I keep writing, be thankful I don't get much sleep lol. Just kidding.**


	4. An Unwanted Companion

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 4 An Unwanted Companion**

In the Land of lightning the ninja of the great nations had begun returning to their respective villages. The injured were the first to go taken back along with medical officers. Of those that remained were the generals, Kage and top ranking shinobi of each division. For the last few days these shinobi had been in almost constant meetings discussing a possible permanent alliance. These talks had been stalled by by several key reasons. Most notably Iwa's failure to appoint a new Tsuchikage after the loss of Oonoki in the war. Because of this Iwa had been sending several candidates to these meetings each with varying levels of cooperativeness.

If Kakashi and the other Kage had the choice they would have picked Oonoki's son, Kitsuchi for the next Tsuchikage. He was a general during the war in charge of one of the close range divisions of shinobi. He was also rather supportive of the idea that a permanent alliance was possible.

Several of the other candidates were firmly against the idea with one particular taking the information the Naruto Uzumaki, the boy the people from Iwa were still calling a hero, was in fact the son of Minato Namikaze, quite poorly. Many were of the opinion that Naruto's actions in the war more than justified his status as a hero, whether they were saying this in an attempt to sure up votes from Iwa's jounin, or if they truly believed this Kakashi and the other Kage didn't know.

"If we put Iwa out of the discussions for the time being I think it would be wise to discuss how a potential alliance would work. A loose standing association will only work to a certain degree. Cooperation and interaction between villaged will be necessary to maintain close bonds and assure old wounds do not reopen." Mei spoke at the start of their latest meeting.

"We have the chunin exams, over the past years very few, if any shinobi from rival villages would compete in the other nations exams with only Suna and Konoha regularly competing against each other. This promotes competition and friendship between villages." Gaara suggested.

"I agree that it's a good starting point but to make a alliance stronger we each should be able to contribute in some way in terms of aiding the other villages shinobi. Konoha has the best medics, we could offer training to the other villages." Kakashi added.

"Yo Kumo agrees, we can train other shinobi, just like I did the boy'o from the tree's." the new Raikage and constantly rapping Killer Bee added.

"Suna's use of chakra strings and puppetry is unmatched." Gaara offered.

"As is Kiri's Kenjutsu, our swordsmen are legendary after all." Mei finished with a smug smile.

Mifune the leader of the Samurai from the Land of Iron was an ever present at these meetings and assured the ninja that should they be able to come to an agreement then his country would join the others in the alliance. "Our weapon and armor forging would be an asset. And if Iwa consent, the rare minerals from the Land of Earth would be perfect to keep all of our soldiers supplied with the highest quality equipment." Mifune suggested. Once again the Iwa delegation struggled to come to an agreement on whether they should agree to the request.

"Who will be in charge of this so called alliance, our authority as Kage should not be reduced at all." a tall bearded man who stood almost twice as tall as Gaara asked.

Once more Mifune decided to act as a voice of reason, greed had been a major player in the relationships between the great nations in the past and he did not want this to become the point that prevented a lasting peace to occur. "I propose all Kage retain absolute power within their village with a rotation of a alliance commander that will change between the villages after a set period of time." for once not a single person could find a issue with the Samurai leaders compromise.

**(Land of Earth)**

Naruto let out a low sigh as he looked off into the distance back along the road he was traveling. Asahi's caravan was drawn by two spotted white horses and had a tall arching roof off blue canvas for shelter from rain. '_This isn't much faster than I was traveling before._' he thought in reluctant acceptance of is fate. Being a dead man was far more difficult than he had expected. Naruto attention turned to the rocky mountain ridges that scattered the landscape of the Land of Earth. Like Konoha's forests Naruto assumed that the mountains were great assets to the ninja from Iwa. Konoha ninja were in their element hiding in the trees and he was sure Iwa shinobi would be quite formidable in this terrain.

"You seem a little distracted Ruto, is something wrong?" Asahi asked from the front of the caravan.

Naruto was startled, he didn't expect the middle aged man to have picked up on his frustration. "Oh it's nothing really." he protested.

"I guess this way of travel is a little slow when you're a ninja isn't it." Asahi replied eyeing the blond.

'_Busted, but how!?_' Naruto thought looking around as if hoping that there was some other passenger that the middle aged man may have been talking to. "I... Uh"

"I may not look it, but I was a shinobi once as well. I can tell when I have a trained ninja in my cart. Although I would say you have not done much undercover work, you can suppress your chakra well enough. But the way you hold your body, and are constantly checking your blind spots are dead giveaways." The caravan owner interrupted.

"When did you find out?" Naruto asked a defeated expression passing across his face.

"When? The moment I saw you I knew you were trained. So what rank? You're certainly no black opps Anbu and they are the only ninja sent out on solo missions at least that was the case when I was a ninja. I'm guessing you went rogue?" Asahi assumed.

"I'm a Genin. And yes I guess you could say I'm a missing ninja now. I faked my death because I'm of more use to everyone dead than alive. As long as everyone thinks I'm dead my village has a chance for some real peace." Naruto admitted.

"That's quite a lot of responsibility to put on a Genin. Are you sure you're not over stating things?" Asahi asked calmly.

"Maybe, but either way you look at it losing one genin isn't the end of the world." Naruto replied. He may not be able to hide the fact he was a shinobi from the caravan owner but he sure wouldn't be giving up the fact that he was a jinchuuriki.

"I guess that's true, anyway boy your secret is safe with me, I opted out at the end of the third great shinobi war, who am I to give up someone who chose the same path as I did." Asahi replied.

"You faked your death?" Naruto asked becoming more interested in the bald man.

"No need, I was Anbu, any Anbu ninja that doesn't return is considered dead unless confirmed otherwise. At the time I was one of the best Iwa had to offer." Asahi said confidently his chest puffing out almost gloatingly as he talked about himself.

"Then what happened?" Naruto asked.

Asahi laughed a hollow laugh and shook his head. "The war happened. I was given a mission that in the end I just couldn't do. So I opted out."

Naruto was confused, Anbu were considered the most loyal ninja in their respective villages, each one was expected to be able to kill on comand and accept any mission without question no matter how difficult or suicidal it may be. "You chickened out?" Naruto asked.

"You could say that. I would say, I wouldn't have been able to live with myself had I gone through with it." Asahi replied.

"What was the mission?" Naruto had to ask, his interest had been peaked.

"Iwa wanted a distraction that would keep a large group of Konoha shinobi occupied long enough for a team to slip past and the attack a key structure being held close to the northern border of the Land of Fire. I accepted without hesitation of course but when I arrived at my destination I found a small civilian village. No shinobi these people couldn't even defend themselves from bandits let alone a fully trained ninja. But my orders were clear, destroy target leaving no survivors. This was the distraction they wanted, I kill a bunch of civilians luring the enemy away from their posts." Asahi explained suddenly looking far older than he had just moments earlier.

"But you couldn't do it?" Naruto finished for him.

"I was faced with a dilemma. If I didn't follow my orders I would have been executed for defying orders in a time of war. But if I did I would have been committing a crime far worse than anything I had seen done before. I broke down, froze unable to move, I don't know how long a stayed just staring at the village it could have been days for all I know. Eventually a young girl from the village found me and brought me into her home. I then made up my mind, I couldn't kill these people so like the coward I am I fled vowing to never again bring harm to anyone." Asahi finished.

"What about the attack on the Konoha ninja?" Naruto asked.

"It never went ahead. the war had all but ended the day before without my knowledge when the furture Yondaime Hokage destroyed the main supply bridge and singlehandedly routed a battalion of Iwa's army.

Naruto sighed, on the one hand he was glad that the man had disobeyed his orders but on the other he was saddened that he had been forced to give up his life and disappear. Naruto was doing it out of choice but Asahi was forced to choose between two horrible outcomes. However Naruto looked at it the situation the caravan owner had been in had no happy endings. '_Compared to this guy I have it easy, all I had to give up was becoming Hokage._' Naruto realized.

'**What about all of your friends? The life you had in Konoha? You are underselling what you are losing by taking this course of action**.' Kurama interjected.

'_Well maybe, but should I choose to I can return to Konoha, Asahi can never go back to Iwa_.' Naruto replied.

'**That may be, but by the sounds of it he has chosen a new life. He seems rather content to me, I sense no negative emotions coming from him**.' the fox assured the blond.

'_Yeah, guess this guy is proof that there is life after being a ninja, who knows mybe I'll get over the mountains find a girl settle down and be able to raise a family of my own, that sounds like a nice life to me, what was it Shikamaru always said? 'Find a nice girl who's not too pretty yet not hard on the eyes have two children an boy and a girl?' Hell if I'm really lucky I'll find someone strong like Kaa-san. if that was Shikamaru's plan it has to be a good one._' Naruto smiled.

'**You have to get a kiss before you can even think about any of that. So far your only experience is with Sasuke**' Kurama chuckled causing Naruto to face palm.

'_Why do you have to keep bringing that up?_' Naruto whined.

'**I don't have a lot going on.**' the fox said with a rather large grin.

'_I've let you out of the cage, so you can roam around my mind. Hell, you can even change the mindscape to your liking now so you have alo-_' Naruto stopped mid thought when he saw something move out of the corner of his eye. "Where being followed." Naruto whispered so only he could here.

'**Are you sure? I cannot sense anything.**' Kurama asked.

'_Positive. I saw the corner of a black cloak disappear behind one of the larger rocks._' Naruto answered in a businesslike manner.

'**Then the question is why? Your chakra is completely suppressed, I'm even restricting my chakra flow.**' Kurama mused.

'_Maybe they are not after us but Asahi? He will be a wanted man in this country, maybe it's someone that recognizes him?_' Naruto thought solemnly. '_Either way we can't let whoever it is report our location._' he decided.

'**That is true, I cannot sense any ninja in the area, or at least I cannot feel any negative emotions. It may be safe to use some chakra. After fighting Madara and his little pet Uchiha who ever if following us should be no problem**.' Kurama smirked.

"Alright! Hey Asahi how far are we from the next town?" Naruto asked preparing to stop suppressing his chakra as long as he was far enough away from possible detection.

"It will be close to dusk before we reach another settlement." The caravan owner answered.

"In that case, I'll catch up to you in a little while. There is something I need to do." Naruto spoke not wanting to scare the man into thinking that his secret may have been discovered. Standing up in the back of the covered wagon Naruto hopped out onto the road and waited for Asahi to be a fair distance away. "Come out, I know you have been following the old mans wagon, what do you want!?" the blond asked loudly as he allowed his chakra to once more flow freely.

Karin couldn't help but gasp as Naruto's chakra came bubbling to the surface. '_Amazing it's so bright. Far brighter than I ever remembered, even when it was supressed his chakra was like a beacon in the dark but now it's more like the sun shining brightly, spreading it's light over hundreds of miles._' she thought in awe, trying to gather her composure. She had spent so long now searching for the blond that was now standing before her in the middle of a large winding road wrapping around the side of a mountain. But now she found him she had no idea what she was supposed to do.

"You're not fooling me, I may not be able to sense your chakra but I know you're out there!" Naruto yelled assertively.

Slowly Karin appeared from behind a row of tall rocks that had lined the side of the road. Her hood was up to hide her face, she had no idea how Naruto would react to seeing her. "Okay you got me." she said using a small amount of chakra to disguise her voice, hoping to assure Naruto that she meant him no harm before revealing herself.

"Why are you following the old mans caravan?" Naruto asked calmly.

"I'm looking for a Konoha ninja." Karin admitted.

"You're a long way from the Land of Fire, you will have more luck going back in the other direction. What's this ninja's name?" the blond shinobi replied already knowing the answer.

"I'm looking for Naruto Uzumaki." Karin answered.

"I heard he died, maybe you should go ask at Konoha. Why are you looking for him anyway?" Naruto pressed he was already sure that his cover was blown but on the off chance that this person sis not know that he was Naruto he was not going to make it easy for them.

"I know for a fact that Naruto is not dead, and he is the only person that can give me my life back." Karin said removing her hood.

Naruto's eyes widened and Kyuubi released a small growl in Naruto's mind. Plausible threat or not this was someone who worked with the Akatsuki and therefore not to be trusted. "I know you! You were locked up in Konoha before the start of the war. You were uh Sasuke's girlfriend or something."

Karin blushed at the thought but only for an instant. "I was his sensor and medic, not his girlfriend! And you can drop the act, I know who you are Naruto."

"Sensor huh, well that explains why you were able to find me. Now, all I need to know is how, so I can prevent being found again in the future." Naruto said dismissing why Karin was there completely.

"How? I can see your chakra from miles away, it was like a come and find me flashing light. I could sense your chakra from fifty miles away" Karin scoffed.

"Impossible I had my chakra suppressed." Naruto said.

"Well I'm no normal sensory ninja, why else would Orochimaru and Sasuke-kun keep me around?" Karin said attempting to make her seem like a victim.

"Hm I guess that makes sense, you do seem to be less uh, experimented on than most of Orochimaru's subjects I met." Naruto agreed.

'_Just as I thought, he's a big softy, just give him a sob story and he will help me for sure_.' Karin thought. "That's right, Orochimaru made me locate unique chakra signatures and then forced me to run his experiments." she sobbed pausing at several moments for emphasis. "And then, after Orochimaru died and I thought I was free Sasuke-kun took me and had me hunt down his brother." she continued.

Naruto couldn't help but feel somewhat sorry for the kunoichi despite Kurama's silent protests in his mind that she was trying to manipulate him. '_It makes sense, I always wondered how Sasuke was ever to locate someone like Itachi when Konoha shinobi had been trying for years._'

'**Fool, she's trying to make you feel sorry for her by giving you some bullshit story, just get rid of her already!**' the Kyuubi retorted.

Naruto knew better than to argue with Kurama when it came to negative emotions so in the end he remained unmoved. "Get to the point, what do you want?"

'_What happened!? I had him eating out of the palm of my hand just a second ago, and then he just went blank._' Karin lamented. Her tears instantly dried up once she discovered it wasn't going to work. "Fine I want you too forgive me for helping Sasuke-kun. I thought I loved him so I followed what he asked me to do blindly. I have caused so much damage and I want you to know that I am sorry." she admitted honestly.

Naruto was confused that anyone would go through all the effort to track him down just to say that but just shrugged it off. "Yeah okay I forgive you, if you went through all that just to track me down just to say that you must be telling the truth, so why not." Naruto replied nonchalantly.

"You do? Oh thank kami." Karin said with a smile.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head not really understanding just why this meant so much to the red haired kunoichi. "Yeah you're forgiven, now if you will excuse me I have places to be." and with that Naruto turned to leave.

"Wait you can't go! I need you to tell everyone that you forgive me." Karin said urgently.

"Well, you see now we have a problem. If you're not aware I'm supposed to be dead. It wouldn't be good for maintaining my reputation as being dead if I go around telling people that I forgive a member of the very same organization that killed me. Sorry I couldn't help." Naruto said waving farewell to the kunoichi.

"Stop!" Karin ordered. Naruto ignored her and kept walking, this did not go down well with the crimson eyed kunoichi. Ignoring her had been a popular tactic used by one of her former allies, Suigetsu to annoy the kunoichi. "Hey I said stop! You can't do this. Unless you help me I'm as good as dead!" she yelled angrily frustration mixing with desperation as she chased after the former Konoha ninja.

"Being dead isn't so bad, personally I find that I have lots of time to think now." Naruto finally spoke not stopping as he continued to walk away from the kunoichi.

"You are sentencing me to death!" Karin yelled several real tears falling from her eyes as the realization that she would never have a normal life and she was doomed to die, eventually someone would discover her, by now her face will have been posted all over the elemental nations with bounty a living ninja that worked with the Akatsuki would have quite a large bounty at that.

"Actions have consequences. I had to watch as the first person I had ever called my friend died from my own jutsu. I need to leave in order to bring peace, I'm sorry but I cannot help you. Your fate is in your own hands." Naruto replied.

Naruto took a few more steps when he heard Karin collapse on hands and knees. Tears were falling from her eyes like a constant stream that she couldn't stop despite trying so hard. She was sure from the moment she had seen Naruto for the first time that he had a kind, forgiving soul. But now that same person had just told her he was leaving her to die. "Please!" she begged. "I need your help, I'll do anything!" Naruto's heart was breaking as he continued to walk "Please... help me!" she echoed weakly.

Naruto stopped and rubbed the bridge of his nose trying to ignore the desperate kunoichi's plea. "I can't, if I help you everything I have worked for is ruined. I need to stay dead. I'm sorry." Naruto spoke sadly his heat truly went out to Karin. He held no great sympathy for her as she had put herself in this situation but at the same time he couldn't help but feel bad knowing he was leaving her to be captured and killed as a member of the Akatsuki.

"Then... take me with you?" Karin asked knowing it was her last hope.

"It's too dangerous, where I'm going is not somewhere an ordinary shinobi can survive." Naruto said.

"I'll survive, I heal fast and I'm not easy to kill, I survived Sasuke's attack on that bridge in the Land of Iron after all. I can help you, I'm the best sensor that there is. And my blood heals others wounds in an instant." Karin said her mind already made up. If she was as good as dead anyway.

"You don't even know where I'm going." Naruto reasoned.

"I don't care, if I stay I will be found eventually, I can't wear a hood for my entire life no matter how good I am at suppressing my chakra. Going with you is my only hope." Karin replied seeing that Naruto was starting to soften.

"I can't guarantee your safety." Naruto warned, his resistance fading.

'**This is a risk Naruto**.' Kurama spoke.

'_I know but if I leave her she will be killed, or worse, she could tell everyone that I am still alive, that would be very bad for me. Even if nobody believed her, it's still a voice that could tell others._.' Naruto sighed.

'**She worked with the Akatsuki that should be enough to ignore her, or even better kill her. But I guess you wouldn't be you unless you forgave the girl**.' Kurama sighed in mild disappointment.

"I can take care of myself... so can I come?" Karin asked rubbing the tears from her eyes.

Naruto closed his eyes and nodded. "Yes you can come. Now hurry up and I hope you have money to pay for your passage on the old mans supply caravan." he sighed, turning away from the kunoichi. He was not happy with himself, if he was honest he knew he shouldn't have agreed to let her come, two people were easier to find than one. Because of this he held some resentment for the kunoichi, but he just couldn't leave her to die.

A smile of joy broke across Karin's face. "Thank you, thank you, thank you." she chanted getting to her feet slowly.

"Save it, you can follow me until we are safe. But if you try anything, or I so much as think you are trying to contact anyone, giving away our location, I will move on without you." Naruto warned. His confrontation with the kunoichi made Naruto realize that he had matured quite a lot recently, then again fighting in a war will change someone Naruto just hoped that it was a change for the better.

Karin just nodded and fell into step behind the blond as they followed the road after Asahi's wagon. '_It's not ideal and I'm stuck with, him, but it's far better than the alternative_.' she resigned.

It didn't take long for Naruto to catch upto the caravan when he was moving like a shinobi should. "Hey old man we have a new passenger so I'll double the fee." Naruto said as he landed at the back of Asahi's wagon.

The bald former Iwa shinobi turned just as Karin pulled herself onto the the moving wagon. "A girlfriend, well you sure know how to go on the run." Asahi laughed.

"She's not a girlfriend, hell she's not even a friend. More like a potential assassin trying to kill me in my sleep." Naruto said flatly.

Asahi chuckled at the Naruto's rather annoyed expression it was clear he was not that keen on having the red head tagging along. "Odd choice of travel companions then kid, but who am I too judge. Good to have you aboard miss?"

"Karin." the kunoichi spoke quietly not sure how she should react around the blond, if she over stretched her boundary's she could find herself on the side of the road or tied to a tree.

"Just Karin? You don't have a family name?" Asahi asked.

Karin shook her head. "I didn't know my parents and nobody had ever seen fit to give me a clan name." she admitted slightly saddened by that thought. She had thought of Kusa as a home, but then she was never accepted there. Then she thought working with Orochimaru was where she belonged but the more she thought about it the more obvious it was that he just wanted her for her healing abilities. "I guess nobody has ever thought enough of me to give me one."

"That's stupid, Ero-sennin never had a clan name but that didn't mean people didn't care for him. There was me, Baa-chan, the old sages, and his summons. Not having a family doesn't mean people don't care for you." Naruto said firmly.

Karin's eyes widened, she never expected Naruto to say something so kind when she had basically blackmailed him into taking her with him. "I... I, thank you." she said with a small smile.

"I didn't say it for you, I don't want anyone to say that just because he lacked a clan that Ero-sennin was not loved or respected." Naruto said agressively causing the kunoichi to look slightly crestfallen. Naruto's face softened, he never meant to hurt the girl. "But you're welcome, and I am sure the same can be said for you."

Karin smiled again and wanted to leave it at that but couldn't help but ask one last question. "Um who's Ero-sennin? With a name like that it doesn't sound like they are someone I want to meet." she giggled.

"Ah... yeah quite a few people were not his biggest fans. He was a massive pervert, every day he would spend time writing those perverted books of his or go to spy on women in bath houses." Naruto said thinking about his godfather fondly. It still upset him to know that Jiraiya had died. He remembered wanting nothing more than to have Jiraiya see him becoming hokage and surpass his father.

"What a pig!" Karin shouted angrily, like most kunoichi, and women in general she found the idea of someone watching them while they bath off putting to say the least.

"Yeah I guess he was, but he was also the man who taught me how to be a shinobi and more importantly how to be a man. I never had a father growing up but I wouldn't have asked for anyone better than Ero-sennin." Naruto of course knew who his father was now but he still owed Jiraiya a debt that couldn't be repaid for making him into the person he was now.

Karin's rage subsided finding herself unable to continue hating the man that her new traveling companion seemed to respect to so much. "You still haven't told me who he is, or why you call him Ero-sennin if you respect him so much, although I think I can guess the last part." she said a twinge of annoyance remaining towards the lovable pervert.

"He was my master, Jiraiya. And yeah I called him Ero-sennin, because he was a self proclaimed super pervert and he was a sage, ergo Ero-sennin." Naruto laughed.

Asahi who had been listening to the two teens with mild interest almost fell off the wagon when he head this. '_Jiraiya! And a Sage... this kid was trained by the same man who trained the Yondaime Hokage, and one of the Legendary three ninja of Konoha. How the hell is this kid still a Genin? He's old enough to be at least a chunin and that chakra level he had when he stopped suppressing his chakra, it was so powerful no way this kid is normal._' he thought but he kept those thoughts to himself.

"I thought your sensei was that scarecrow guy... uh Kakashi was his name, right." Karin asked.

"Yeah Kakashi-sensei was my jounin sensei but Ero-sennin was my master, well I guess you would say he took me as his apprentice, I had two teacher. I guess I'm pretty lucky." Naruto answered.

"What you were trained by Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake!?" Asahi said unable to keep in his surprise.

Naruto froze, he had refrained from talking about himself as much as possible but the distraction of Karin's arrival made him forget all about the fact Asahi was a former ninja. '_Well this isn't good._' Naruto thought rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

**End Chapter!**

**I keep meaning to put this on the back burner yet here is another chapter... I have problems. So if you haven't guessed by now this fic is going to be Naruto x Karin. Personally I feel this is a pairing with lots of potential, they are both Uzumaki, and after almost being killed by Sasuke and saved by Naruto and Kakashi she was a character open for a major change in character development in the cannon. **

**She looks like she will break out of prison in the cannon, and if she goes running back to Sasuke I will find that incredibly poor writing certainly after it has shown how scared she was becoming of Sasukes dark chakra, not to mention the fact he almost killed her. ****Still with how things have been going recently I don't really have my hopes up that's for sure.**


	5. Troubles With Chakra

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 5** **Troubles With Chakra**

The sky was dark, no stars shone in the night sky. The sound of light rain hitting the canvas top of Asahi's caravan was the only sound that could be heard in the dark. Karin sat in a corner of the large wagon unable to see a foot ahead of her face. She closed her eyes to check the area for signs of chakra just to keep herself busy.

Immediately the world that had been so dark to her seemed to shine, she noticed Asahi at the front of the wagon's calm if not somewhat dull chakra however as always when she had used her unique technique of sensing others chakra over the past few days Naruto quickly caught her attention. The first time she had done this at a close range she made a startling discovery. The darkness she had felt within him when they had first met in the Land of Iron was gone, she couldn't understand this, but at the same time she had no idea how to bring the subject up. After that she had taken to staring at his chakra sometimes close to an hour at a time as if expecting that crushing darkness to burst fourth and consume the brilliant light that she thought at times seemed almost blinding.

Due to her new found familiarity with Naruto's chakra it did not take her long to realize that something was off about the blond. His chakra may have been suppressed but at the same time the spikes in tension and excitement screamed of someone who was fighting for his life. '_Something is wrong with him!_' she thought a little worried.

While Naruto was not in any danger he was in a sense in a fight. "**Not good enough Naruto, if you can't even create a jutsu in your mind how are you supposed to do it for real?**" Kurama lectured. Deep within Naruto's mindscape the blond jinchuuriki stood with his hands on his knees and slightly panting. Kurama stood a fair way away at the far side of a large open field that seemed to be floating with darkness surrounding it on all sides.

"It might be easier if I could train without you trying to impale me with those tails of yours!" Naruto whined.

"**Nonsense, you have always been at your best when you are fighting for your life how is this any different?**" Kurama spoke with a slightly sadistic smile gracing his features.

"Well for one I was allowed to fight with my full strength on all other occasions and secondly... I really have no idea how I'm supposed to create a jutsu anyway! The Rasenshuriken is just pure manipulation I was never any good at hand seals." Naruto complained..

"**That sounds more like a Naruto problem than a Kurama problem**." the fox teased.

Naruto sweat dropped. "Did you just refer to yourself in the third person?"

"**Yeah I thought I would give it a go... what do you think?**" Kurama replied rubbing his chin with a tail.

Naruto just shook his head. He still struggled to believe just how much the once cold mass of hatred had lightened up, becoming a companion and friend. So much so that it had come to the point where the fox would even joke and laugh with him. "I'm not a fan."

"**You do realize that will just give me more incentive to do it again right?**" Kurama said with a small smirk.

"The thought had crossed my mind." Naruto replied with a deadpan expression. "Look can you just help me with creating a Fuuton jutsu rather than trying to kill me!?" he asked exasperatedly.

"**What do you need another jutsu for anyway, you have the Bijuudama, what more could you possibly want?**" Kurama replied blowing his question off.

"Because, believe it or not, I don't want to kill or flatten everything I come across." Naruto sighed.

"**From what I can remember, it's actually quite fun. You should at least give it a try**." Kurama chuckled.

"Gah! I can't believe I am saying this, but why can't you be serious!?" Naruto yelled in frustration, however moments later the blond had a thought that made him chuckle. "Wait a minute, you don't know how to create a jutsu either do you?"

"**Don't be ridiculous, I can do anything**." the Kyuubi said in his most arrogant voice but for once seemed somehow unconvincing.

"So that's why you won't help me, you cant." Naruto laughed.

"**Don't make me angry Naruto**!" Kyuubi yelled firing a tiny Bijuudama at the ground beneath the blonds feet causing Naruto to flip away with ease.

"Aw what's the matter? Kurama doesn't like hearing the truth?" the blond laughed again.

"**That's it! You die now.**" the giant fox fumed and began to raise his head to form a proper Bijuudama. "**Wait Naruto, we can't play right now you have to leave the seal! That 'girl' is up to something.**"

Outside of the seal Naruto's eyes snapped open to see Karin standing over him an arm reached out towards his chest. Acting on instinct Naruto grabbed her arm in the blink of an eye and flipped her to the ground. He was now kneeling over her with their legs tangled, A fist pulled back as he glared down at her. "What are you doing?" he asked anger and suspicion clear on his face even in the darkness.

Karin was cowering beneath the blonds gaze her arms crossed over her face. "I'm sorry I was searching the area for any ninja that might have been following us when I noticed your chakra was acting peculiarly, I just wanted to make sure you were alright." she said. It was not a lie she had come to check on him to see if he was alright. But saying she had been, searching for other ninja sounded less confusing than saying she was staring at his chakra trying to find where his darkness had gone. She didn't know how, or want to bring that topic up just yet. Things had began to improve between the pair after Naruto told her about Jiraiya, but they were still not what someone would call friends.

Naruto lowered his fist. "Oh I guess I'm sorry then... don't worry about me I was just training in my mind, my chakra is too recognizable to leave it exposed for long enough to get any actual training in so I have been training while I rest, I don't want to become rusty." Naruto said deciding to omit the part about having sparing matches with the Kyuubi. Asahi was no doubt listening even if he didn't care about Naruto's past there were some secrets that you just didn't let slip around a former Anbu ninja.

Karin let out a sigh of relief, her heart was still beating out of her chest from the fright she had been given, like it was trying to get a lifetimes worth of beats out in an instant. It wasn't until her heart finally began to slow down that she realized the compromising position the pair was in. she felt her face burn red with a blush that she was thankful of how dark it was in the caravan. Her reaction was somewhat predictable, pushing Naruto away with all the strength she could manage. "Get off me!" she squeaked with as much anger and authority as she could manage through her embarrassment.

Naruto for his part was also sporting a mild blush, that was the first time he had been in that sort of situation with a kunoichi that didn't terrify him, he still shuddered when thinking about Anko at the start of the second round of the Chunin exams. "Sorry, it won't happen again don't worry" Naruto said with a slightly hollow voice.

Karin didn't respond, she was in shock, much like Naruto that was her first time in a situation like that. She didn't even register the fact that her heart was now beating twice as fast as when she thought she was going die just moments earlier.

(**Konoha**)

Kakashi sighed as he looked down upon the new Konoha. The slowly being rebuilt Konoha, no painting had been done, all buildings were the same wooden color, and only two trading roads had been opened, intersecting at the middle of the village. The large crater the village now resided, was going to a constant reminder to the village of Naruto and the then Akatsuki leader Nagato's fight, that had already become the stuff of legend.

"Welcome back Kakashi-sama." two chunin guards greeted as Kakashi stepped into the village for the first time as Hokage. "How did the meeting with the other leaders go?" one of the chunin asked.

"Not, bad. But not as well as I had hoped, we need to meet again in a few months once Iwa choose their new Kage." Kakashi answered with a rather tired looking eye smile.

"I see, but that is at least better than a failure to agree that an alliance is possible." the other chunin said with a smile of his own.

"I guess that is true. Any news for me at this end?" Kakashi asked.

"Yes there is. The village elders require your presence in the Hokage tower immediately." the first chunin to speek said.

Kakashi nodded but gave a eye smile. "No rest for a Hokage it seems." he sighed. He did not want to get on the bad side of the village elders, they had caused some problems for Tsunade during her time as Hokage, although that was mostly due to Danzo's use of Shuisui Uchiha's rather unique sharingan. Civilians and shinobi alike greeted their new Kage as he passed making Kakashi glad that the war had not broken the spirit of the people.

The new Kage tower had not been completed yet, only the first two floors were open meaning Kakashi had to wait to get his office. The first thing Kakashi noted was the building was slightly larger than the previous Hokage tower even in its incomplete state. The moment Kakashi entered the door to the entrance hall he was greeted by the very two people that were awaiting his arrival. Koharu was an elderly woman who kept her light brown hair tied back in a tight bun held in place by two long pins that Kakashi had very little doubt had a secondary use as a weapon. Homura had spiky hair much like his former teammate the Sandaime Hokage but had a full beard more like Hiruzen's desist son Asuma. His only other distinguishing feature were the thin, green oval glasses he wore. "Oh Kakashi we have been awaiting your return, there are a few topics we must discuss." Homura said in a respectful tone.

"I guess it's my duty, let's find a room to talk in private shall we?" Kakashi suggested. The three shinobi found a small empty office and went inside. "So what do you want?" Kakashi asked.

"There are several things, the funeral for the Uzumaki boy seems to be a popular event, we have received requests to attend from countries all over the elemental nations, so much so we could not hope to accommodate even half of them." Koharu informed the Rokudaime.

Kakashi sighed, this was why he didn't want to be Hokage, the red tape and laborious day to day running of a ninja village, he would rather be back fighting in a battle to the death rather than deciding who can and cannot attend Naruto's funeral. "All of Konoha should be allowed to attend should they wish. Then key dignitary's from the individual countries with emphasis on the five great nations and the Land of Iron... for the rest of the places, we will need to charge people too attend, Konoha needs the revenue, we lost a large number of shinobi in the war." Kakashi sighed hoping he made the right choice.

"We can arrange that, I am also glad you brought up the fact we need to rebuild after the war because the next subject is rather sensitive." Homura spoke calmly.

"Sensitive, in what way?" Kakashi questioned.

"It's about the possessions of Minato Namikaze and Jiraiya. Their jutsu scrolls, and possessions were all left to be handed over to Naruto Uzumaki upon his eighteenth birthday. However with the Uzumaki boys death Konoha takes possession of all items as Naruto had no living relatives. Jiraiya was a very wealthy man as was Minato, and their individual jutsu could make Konoha once more the most powerful village in the elemental nations. With Jiraiya's money alone we could pay for the reconstruction of Konoha completely, and become debt free." Koharu pressed.

"You want me to take the life's work of both Jiraiya-sama and Minato-sensei and distribute them out through the village?" Kakashi asked not liking the idea.

"We do not like the thought of giving up Minato and Jiraiya's secrets anymore than you do Kakashi. But all of the great nations are severely weakened at the moment, if the alliance fails, then a power vacuum could open, and another war could start." Homura answered.

Kakashi sighed closing his eyes in deep thought. "Fine, do you know where Minato-sensei and Jiraiya-sama's possessions are?" he asked.

"We do, but there is a problem." Koharu sighed.

"That does sound like those two, they very rarely did anything easily. So what is it? A seal that only opens with Naruto's blood? A time release seal? I can have a look, but I am not in their league when it comes to sealing." Kakashi admitted.

"No it is nothing like that, although either would not surprise me. It seems that due to Jiraiya's life as a hermit and holding no property in his own name, Jiraiya left his possessions along with Minato and Kushina's in a secure location outside of the village for safekeeping." Koharu continued with a frown.

Kakashi had a fairly good idea where this was heading now. "Myobokuzan."

"Exactly." the elders said at the same time.

"Then send a message to the toads to receive the items." Kakashi answered, he knew Tsunade had contacted the toads on several occasions.

"We can't, all the toads from around Konoha seem to have disappeared, it's almost like they are in hiding." Homura said.

"Then we will have to look harder. I will put this as a priority mission tomorrow." the new Hokage declared. "Is there anything else that you need me for?" he asked.

"No I believe that will be all for now Kakashi." the elderly kunoichi spoke.

Kakashi nodded with an eye smile before exiting the room, resigned the the possibility of perhaps having to distribute Naruto's inheritance amongst the clans of Konoha. '_But why have the toads disappeared, they have been guardians of Konoha for close to fifty years. I guess without Jiraiya and Naruto the Toad clans affiliation with Konoha doesn't really exist anymore_.' "Still you would expect them to at least stick around, Fukusaku-sama and Shima-sama would at least want to go to Naruto's funeral." he added as an afterthought.

The truth was that the toads had seen this coming, they left the forests around Konoha to avoid the topic of Naruto. They couldn't hand over their summoners belongings and inheritance, for the simple fact that Naruto was not dead. Naruto did not want anyone to know this fact, something that the elder toads agreed to keep hidden.

(**Three Day's Later**)

Naruto looked out the back of the caravan to see small stones falling from the sky like rain as they fell from the high peaks on the mountain range they were traveling along. "We must be pretty far north now huh?" Naruto asked looking up at the snow capped peaks that surrounded the group on each side.

"Yeah we're nearing the most northern civilian settlement in the country, after that the mountains get more and more treacherous and only a few ninja outposts, that haven't been manned since the second shinobi world war remain." Asahi answered.

"Really, how long until we arrive?" Naruto pressed, he had not expected to have been taken this far when he payed for the ride.

"A few days yet. You will know it when you see it. It's the village of Iwame, also known as 'The Raining Stone'." Asahi said with a smile.

"Well looks that that will be where we part ways then old man." Naruto informed the caravan owner.

Karin for her part had been barely listening, she had been currently observing Naruto's chakra searching for the darkness she had felt in the Land of Iron only to once more come up empty. Naruto's last comment broke her out of her daze however. "Hey whiskers, you never told me where we are going anyway?" she asked firmly, she still blamed the blond for the situation they were in three nights ago.

_'Since when did she become so familiar with me?_' Naruto frowned.

The blond was about to answer when Kurama cut in. '**Since the night she interrupted our training, seems like her timid quiet attitude was just an act. Probably didn't want to be abandoned, still I don't trust this girl**.' the fox informed his container.

"Well are you going to tell me where you plan on taking us or not?" Karin pressed.

"No, I'm not. You can always go your own way if you don't like it." Naruto replied far more aggressive than he had planned. "I mean, not right now. I'll tell you later, the less people that know where I'm going the better." he explained feeling bad about yelling at the Kunoichi.

"Uh, fine." Karin said with a huff, folding her arms and turning to watch the country pass behind the wagon.

'_Gah I can't figure her out, she begs to come with me then acts like I'm forcing her to follow me._' Naruto sighed.

'**Why care? it's likely that she will die crossing the mountains anyway. The air will be thin and temperatures well below freezing**.' Kurama retorted.

'_Well I don't want her to die. I know she basically guilt tripped me into letting her tag along. Then there is the fact that she used to work for the Akatsuki. But that doesn't mean I want her dead_.' Naruto replied.

'**Well forgive me for not being ready to forgive someone who wanted you dead and to seal me away inside that statue. I don't trust her, and neither should you.**' the large fox scoffed.

'_Either way for the time being I'm stuck with her, I did promise she could come with me didn't I._' Naruto sighed still wondering if he made the right choice. '_Still I'm glad she has livened up a bit, but she's harder to figure out than Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan combined_.' he added as an afterthought.

Kurama began laughing. '**It's typical with you isn't it. When you're faced with a dilemma that is not how to defeat some overly powerful adversary, you are about as useless as those bright orange and blue jumpsuits you used to wear, were for stealth. At least that old perverted toad made you tone them down a bit**.'

'_How can you talk, you're a fifty foot tall fox, your idea of stealth would be to destroy everything leaving no evidence you were there at all, which would be fine if you didn't leave a massive path of destruction in your path everywhere you went._' Naruto laughed back.

'**Big words, but I went unnoticed for hundreds of years before Madara summoned me to fight Hashirama Senju.**' Kyuubi retorted.

Naruto couldn't help but admit that the giant fox had a point, how did the Bijuu remain undetected for so long, before the fight with Madara there was very little interactions with the Bijuu. Naruto was about to ask how that could have happened when he noticed Karin staring at him inquisitively. "Yes?" he asked puzzled as to why she was looking at him.

Karin blushed in embarrassment realizing you had been caught. "I uh, I'm trying to figure your chakra out." she admitted.

"Huh?" Naruto replied more confused than ever. "Well I can see peoples chakra, but I also can get a feel of their personality and current mood. Well when ever you become unnaturally quiet your chakra seems to become overly active, sometimes annoyed, others angry or happy almost like you are laughing." Karin attempted to explain.

"Oh so you can feal the tiny fluctuations of my chakra and determine what I'm thinking?" Naruto guessed.

"No nothing that advanced, more along the lines of what you are feeling, certain emotions come across stronger than others while some don't come across at all, or I have just never seen them." Karin explained.

"Sounds useful, I can use a similar technique, although it only picks up on negative emotions, and I can't use it all the time." Naruto admitted.

'_**Interesting**_.' Kurama thought calmly to himself.

"Yes negative emotions come across very strongly." Karin agreed.

"So what does it look like?" Naruto asked.

"Um what?" Karin queried.

"Chakra, I can visualize it to use, like when I form a jutsu. I can sense it, but you said that you can see it and the emotions. I want to know what it looks like when it's not compressed into a jutsu, the way you see chakra." Naruto asked with a friendly smile. _'I really don't know why I never asked Neji or Hinata-chan this_.'

Karin couldn't help but return the blonds smile but paused on how to answer the question. "It's sort of hard to explain. Everyone has different chakra that feels differently, for each individual."

"Oh. Then uh, what about mine?" Naruto pressed.

"Well, lets see. It's bright, almost blindingly so and very light and happy." Karin answered with a small smile. '_It's also the most overwhelmingly powerful chakra I have ever felt and not to mention the fact that his darkness has vanished makes him something I have never seen or felt before_.' she added in thought too embarrassed to admit something like that to Naruto, who she still barely knew. It was not embarrassed in a romantic way, her interest was born out of scientific curiosity. She had worked with Orochimaru long enough to gain a interest in the unusual.

"I see, and um... What about Sasuke, what was his chakra like?" the blond pressed.

"That's a little more complicated. When I first met Sasuke his chakra was very self assured and powerful but it slowly became darker, the last time I saw it his chakra was so dark and suffocating that it scared me. His negative emotions darkened his personality and chakra to the point he was unrecognizable." the kunoichi admitted sadly. She still hadn't gotten over the Uchiha, in the end your first love will always remain your first love.

Naruto hung his head slightly. "I see, it was that bad huh, I could feel it when we fought but I didn't know how far he was gone... Still in the end he helped me, he helped everyone. I like to think that I was able to help him as well." he said with a weak smile.

"Well I don't know if it helps but Sasuke-kun's chakra seemed more like it used to when they brought the bodies back to the headquarters." Karin replied.

"Is that how you knew I was alive?" the Kyuubi jinchuuriki pressed.

"Yes, that clone may have been able to match your chakra signature but not how the chakra looked or felt to me." the red head admitted.

'_**Very Interesting indeed. This girls abilities surpass those of my first container Mito. If that red hair wasn't enough to give it away, then this certainly did. That girl is an Uzumaki, there is no doubting it now. I don't really want to keep things from Naruto but I do not want him becoming attached to this girl, Uzumaki or not she is dangerous. From my best estimate she is only a genin level shinobi, not good enough to survive on her own, and a risk if Naruto has to protect her**__._' Kurama thought.

Meanwhile at the front of the caravan a certain former Anbu from Iwa was listening to the two teens with rapt attention. '_This kid, I know who he is now, how did I not see it earlier, blond spiky hair and blue eyes. The Yondaime Hokage's legacy... trained by Jiraiya or the Sannin, and Copycat Kakashi, no way you are Genin level, young Namikaze_.' Asahi thought silently his mind racing at the realization of just who it was in the back of his caravan.

(**Meanwhile**)

"Not one, we couldn't find a single toad, summons or otherwise..." Neji sighed as he entered into Kakashi's temporary office while the Hokage tower was still being built. The Hyuuga was flanked by Kiba, Hinata, and Shino. Two days of searching had not turned up a single toad or even a frog for that matter.

Kakashi sighed and looked up onto the Hokage monument, more specifically onto the face of his sensei. "I had feared as much, without any summoners they probably cannot stay outside of Myobokuzan for an extended period of time. Jiraiya-sama had the toads watch over Naruto as a child to make sure he wasn't seriously harmed, and after that Naruto was a summoner so they watched over the village as guardians. They have no reason to stay here now."

"It makes sense, but you would have expected one of the summons to be in contact." Neji replied.

"It would be logical for the toads to be weary, the last time a successor was chosen for Tsunade-sama things did not turn out well. There is also the friendship between the Slug summons and the Toads, it could be that they do not wish to deal with anyone but Tsunade-sama." Shino added.

"Ano, I don't think we should call off the search. Kakashi-sama please allow me to go continue, I'll increase the search radius." Hinata said with a determined glint in her eye.

Kiba and Neji gave the kunoichi a worried glance, Shino was equally concerned but remained his stoic self. "Hinata you haven't stopped since we got back to Konoha, you need a rest." Kiba said as calmly as the Inuzuka could manage.

"I appreciate the concern Kiba-kun but Naruto-kun wouldn't give up just because things were not going his way, he would keep going regardless and that's what I plan on doing." Hinata said defiantly.

Kakashi closed his eyes in thought. Naruto's death had affected those close to him in different ways, some like Sakura grieved. Others seemed to have their own ideas about what happened to the blond jinchuuriki, Shikamaru was in this category, the lazy Nara firmly believed that Naruto was alive but it would be too troublesome to go after him. Then there was the final group, the majority of those that Naruto had been closest to fell into this group, that of the highly motivated. They all wanted to prove that they could live up to Naruto's name and help fill the void left by the energetic knucklehead turned first class shinobi. None fitted this description better than Hinata, everyone knew of the way she felt about Naruto and had all expected her to be stricken with grief, instead she seemed to take to Naruto's Nindo stronger than ever before.

"I'm sorry Hinata but that will not do any good. If the toads do not want to be found, then they will remain hidden. The only chance we have of contacting them is if Tsunade-sama wakes up from her coma. Besides there are more pressing matters that I have need of a tracking team for." Kakashi informed the group.

"Anything, we won't let you down." Hinata said before any of the others had a chance to answer.

"It's good to see you're eager but I can assure you this is no easy mission. Several Anbu Hunter squads have been working on it for close to a month but haven't found anything." Kakashi informed the group.

"A missing nin?" Neji guessed.

"Yes, a top priority one." Kakashi said taking out a folder and placing it open on the desk. "She escaped during the war and has avoided capture or even a shred of a trail ever since."

"That's the Kunoichi you captured working with Sasuke." Neji registered.

"Exactly, she is also a member of the Akatsuki and as such considered an S ranked criminal with a kill on sight order." Kakashi informed the group.

"S ranked criminal? Aren't they supposed to be the best of the best? She was just one of Sasuke's henchmen." Kiba scoffed.

"Kiba skill dose not determine the class, an S ranked criminal is a shinobi or a civilian wanted for crimes against a shinobi village, country or equivalent. Just because she was not one of the main instigators of the Akatsuki does not make her crimes any less, this was compounded by her escape from Konoha." Shino said ever logically.

"Shino is right Kiba, I have already sent the information to the other countries, she will be the most wanted person in the elemental nations by now." Kakashi said agreeing with Shino. Although personally he did not see the harm in letting the Kunoichi go, it was clear to Kakashi from the moment they captured her she was no threat to Konoha or any shinobi above chunin level for that matter. He also knew that she had been missing for such a long time now that finding her would be almost impossible.

"When do we leave?" Neji asked in a businesslike manner.

"Tomorrow morning, take the rest of the day off, and I mean it, no training, no helping with the reconstruction work. That's an order, do I make myself clear?" Kakashi said making sure to stare at Hinata directly.

"Yes Hokage-sama." the four Konoha shinobi declared in Unison before being dismissed.

'_This job is such a pain in the ass, I can see why Tsunade-sama drank so much_.' Kakashi thought while discreetly withdrawing his little orange book. '_Now I can finally focus on the main issue that is going to plague my time as Hokage... The fact that there will be no more new Icha Icha without Jiraiya-sama!_' he cried silently as he neared the end of one of his favorite chapters.

**End Chapter!**


	6. The Village Surrounded by Mountains

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 6 The Village Surrounded by Mountains**

Naruto leaned out in the back of Asahi's caravan, resting his head against a pillow that he propped up against the side of the wagons high walls. The warm midday sun shone down on them as they traveled along the road. It may not have been a fastest way to travel but Naruto had to admit it was nicer than walking.

"Hey Kids we're almost at our destination. You can see the village from here." Asahi's voice rung out from the front of the wagon.

Naruto grunted in acknowledgment but didn't want to get up after just getting comfortable. Karin on the other hand seemed far more interested. "Really?" she asked asked exiting the back of the caravan to see for herself.

"It's out there in that valley. It's a large village but it has a very small population due to it's isolation." Asahi said pointing towards a small speck on the horizon that could only be distinguished from the mountains by the difference in color. While the mountains were white with the colour of the snow that blanketed the mountain, the village appeared jet black in stark contrast to its surroundings.

"Why did they make it stand out so much? wouldn't it be safer to match the surroundings?" Karin asked.

"Well for one it's a civilian holiday destination, not a shinobi hidden village." Asahi laughed.

Karin blushed in embarrassment. "I guess that would make sense. It's been so long since I have been anywhere so flashy I really need a break from being a ninja." the truth was the red head had never been to any relaxation destinations ever. The first time she left Kusa was to come to Konoha for the Chunin exams and from there she was taken by Orochimaru. From then on it was rare for the kunoichi to see the sun more than once a week until she left with Sasuke. She had all but forgotten that there was life outside of her work for Orochimaru and then Sasuke. "Hey Naruto come check this out." she said looking back into the canvass topped wagon.

'_So he was smart enough to give me a fake first name as well. Although Ruto Kaze is not that far from Naruto Namikaze, he just dropped the first part of each name._' Asahi thought calmly pretending to be completely focused on the road.

Naruto sighed and stuck slowly rose to his feet before moving to the front of the caravan. Naruto's interest was not in the village more the giant peaks that rose up behind it, almost vertical climbs it would take immense chakra supplies to even hope to scale them. '_Wow I've never seen anything like this._' he thought in awe.

'**Well don't get too overwhelmed Naruto, we still need to navigate our way through them.**' Kurama interjected.

'_Yeah but it looks like we're going to need more equipment_.' Naruto replied. He then realized that Karin was looking at him expectantly waiting for his reaction. "Man this is really something, that must be the highest village in the Elemental Nations." he said finally.

"Yes it is. In the safer months of the year, with less rockfalls the village is a tourist destination, famous for skiing and mountain climbing. Although the rest of the year it is all but inaccessible only the most skilled shinobi can approach the village." Asahi answered.

"So it looks like we picked a good time of year then." Naruto said happily.

"Yeah I wouldn't be game to come up here otherwise, but with that said I always make a killing when I do get up this far." Asahi replied with a smile, he found Naruto's attitude rather contagious.

"So how long before we get there?" Karin asked eagerly.

"I would say a little over an hour, two if the mountains decided to give us a hard time." the caravan owner replied.

"I guess I owe you some money for taking us this far then." Naruto said taking out his trusty toad wallet. He withdrew the remaining funds he promised the man and gave Karin a look that told her instantly that she had to repay him for her half of the fee eventually.

"How do you fit so much money in that small wallet?" Karin asked shaking off the look the blond was giving her, as scientific curiosity had taken over.

"Oh Ero-sennin placed a seal in here that only I can open... well Ero-sennin could, if he couldn't I would have far more money than I do now." Naruto complained. Before mumbling something barely audible about a no good drunk pervert stealing all his money.

"Clever an anti thieving seal. I wouldn't mind a few of those myself." Asahi said clearly impressed.

Karin on the other hand couldn't help but giggle at Naruto having his money stolen by his sensei. "Wasn't Jiraiya a S ranked ninja, one mission and he could have collected the yearly salary of a Genin like you." she chuckled.

Naruto sweat dropped, placing his hand over his face in embarrassment. "Don't remind me, then there was the fact he was making a fortune off his books."

"He was a writer as well? What did he write?" Karin asked.

Naruto sighed knowing how most women reacted to his masters choice in literature. "He writes smut... well he called them novels, and I really liked his fist book. But from what I have seen of the others, his Icha, Icha books are really nothing but porn." He admitted. Suddenly Naruto noticed a pink hew spread across both Karin's and Asahi's faces. "You both read them don't you?" The blond added with a deadpan expression.

"Of course not, I would never read that filth." Karin lied so unsuccessfully that not even Naruto, perhaps the most dense ninja Konoha had produced in a generation believed her.

"Well they're actually not bad, I carry a few around with me. They are sold under a different pen name in each nation so I guessed that a shinobi was writing them but I never knew it was one of the Legendary Three of Konoha." Asahi said honestly withdrawing the often coveted small orange book from an inside pocket in his jacket.

"So where do you hide yours Karin? Or did you already read them all trying and find a way for Sasuke to notice you?" Naruto laughed.

"I told you I don't read them!" she yelled angrily, she attempted to throw a punch at the blond, not a hard one mind you, more like an annoyed tap. Still Naruto leaned back to avoid the hit laughing all the while.

"You're going to need to be faster than that." The blond smirked before jumping back into the caravan.

Karin was now trembling with embarrassed anger. "Get back here! Promise or not you're a dead man!" she roared before following after Naruto.

"Hey if you break anything back there you are paying for it!" Asahi called out with a smile caught up in the humor of the teens interactions. Laughter could be heard from Naruto as he avoided strike after strike from the angry kunoichi. "How can you have not hit him yet? It's not exactly a large area back there." the caravan owner laughed.

"She's really slow." Naruto called out in response with a chuckle. Unfortunately for the blond, that was a large enough distraction for the red headed kunoichi's fist to make contact with the side of his face. "Ouch!"

Asahi laughed to himself while Naruto whined and Karin began yelling at him for embarrassing her. '_What an odd couple. The Namikaze boy is like a puzzle. He supposedly only holds the rank of a genin, but those moves, despite the fact that Karin was only playing around were more along the lines of a Jounin_.'

(**Meanwhile**)

A team of shinobi moved through the Land of Fire jumping from tree to tree. "How far out is the team we are set to join up with?" Kiba asked sounding quite bored. His large ninja hound Akamaru barked voicing his agreement with the Inuzuka.

"We need to arrive at the northern border of the Land of Fire, the team as you call them is actually just Sai." Neji informed the group.

"They only have one person looking for her? She escaped from a Konoha prison and is a member of the Akatsuki. Why has only Sai been looking for her?" Kiba asked incredulously.

"It is logical, after the war the strength of the major hidden villages has never been lower, most shinobi have been recalled to prevent smaller countries attempting to seize power." Shino explained, stoic and calm as ever.

"Still a team of one, and it's only Sai, I thought we would have some awesome Anbu like that Yamato guy that helped Naruto train. At the very least I would have hoped for one of our sensei's." Kiba whined.

"Complaining will do us no good Kiba-kun. Besides Sai-san has been in Anbu all his life, I'm sure he is capable of the task Kakashi-sama has given him." Hinata said.

"Besides Kiba, it's like Shino said. The top level shinobi are still required in Konoha until the alliance is formed, or our shinobi numbers have increased." Neji replied.

"Gah fine, but why are we heading north? How do you know she went this way?" Kiba grunted.

"That is simple behavioral analysis. Our target was a longtime servant of Orochimaru and after him Sasuke. She knew that Sasuke was in the north as well as the Sound Village bases. Either would be her most likely Destinations upon escaping from Konoha." Shino informed the Inuzuka.

"It is not that simple, the truth is there has been no sign of a trail of any kind, her skill set was only that of a genin but her ability as a sensor and to suppress her chakra are off the scale, that is how she was able to avoid all the shinobi on her way out of the village. She could tell that only a skeleton staff were left in the village and used that as an opportunity to escape. All they found in her cell was a picture of Sasuke." Neji added.

The name of the last Uchiha made Akamaru growl menacingly. "Yeah I feel the same way buddy, I wish he was still alive so I could have the pleasure of killing him myself." Kiba said talking to the large white hound.

"If Naruto was unable to cleanly defeat Sasuke then there is little doubt that all of us would fail, although I can't help but admit that I feel somewhat similar." Shino admitted.

"Um Neji-kun if this kunoichi is so good at hiding then what chance do we have of finding her?" Hinata asked.

'_Probably none, Kakashi-sama just gave us this mission to keep Hinata from pointlessly hurting herself training or searching for Naruto's toads_.' "She won't be able to hide from our Byakugan and there were no Inuzuka or Aburame searching for her before. If we can find a trail then we have the best chance of finding her." Neji spoke evenly. It was not a lie more of a deflection from the real question.

(**Land of Earth**)

Asahi's caravan pulled up at the front of a massive wall, twice the size of the one that once surrounded Konoha before the Akatsuki attacked and three times as thick. "Wow whats with the massive walls?" Naruto asked in awe.

"Despite being located in a rather safe valley this village is still often bombarded by several deadly stone rain storms in the most dangerous parts of the year. With most of the village being built underground the walls prevent the village from being caving and keep the paths open." Asahi answered.

"Wow if it's so dangerous why would anyone live here?" Karin asked in bewilderment.

"The simplest answer would be money. Half the year this place is the hottest tourist destination in the Land of Earth. It's basically a gold mine, half a year working here can make anyone a fortune, you'll see when we get in there, the place is filled with some of the richest people I have ever met." Asahi answered in a mater of fact tone.

"So there are lot's of things to do here then?" Karin asked silently hoping Naruto wasn't hoping to move on quickly. She for the first time in her life wanted to relax and take enjoy life. It was partly Naruto's doing, his chakra was so warm that she felt safe and contented just being in his presence. Not that she would ever admit to such a thing.

For Naruto's part he wanted to move on quickly although pehaps not too quickly that it aroused further suspicion from the former Anbu shinobi. '_Maybe it would be wise to stay in the village at least until Asahi leaves?_' Naruto questioned.

'**I would actually agree, this man has already discovered far too much, it would be unwise to move on while he is in the area. The last thing you need now is for him to discover where we are going. When it is quite possible that he has already discovered who your father was**.' Kurama agreed in the back of Naruto's mind.

'_How would he know that?_' Naruto asked in response to his companion.

'**It's simple isn't it? Trained by the Yondaime's student and sensei, yellow spiky hair, and blue eyes. It doesn't take a genius to put those together, and for a former Anbu from Iwa it would have been as easy as defeating you when you first graduated**.' Kurama replied with a small chuckle at the end throwing a thinly veiled insult at the teen.

'_Oh that's harsh Kurama, it's not like you helped things for me when I was young you know_.' Naruto replied.

'**I helped plenty, do you think you would have been able to do half the things you have done if it wasn't for the adversities you went through because of me. I made you mentally strong from a young age, although I have to ad it at the time that was neither my choice or intent.**' Kurama retorted in a mater of fact tone.

'_I guess you're right, I would have never had the drive to be Hokage and be respected if I wasn't shunned, I never would have learned the Shadow Clone and passed my graduation exam if it hadn't been for Mizuki's distrust and hatred. I would have died on that bridge on my first mission if it hadn't been for you. I never thought of any of those things as reasons to be thankful but I guess in hindsight they are._' Naruto replied with a small smile.

'**You become stronger by overcoming difficulties, and I was a rather large one so it's of little surprise that you became strong in your own right. I would still win in a proper fight though**.' the fox decalared a small smirk gracing his face at the end not wanting the blonds head to become swollen.

The caravan passed between a set of large gates and into the village. Each building was made of the same thick stones of the village walls and each was larger than the the Hokage tower had ever been. Despite this most of the main roads were covered with ceilings to prevent significant rockfalls blocking traffic and after the small area around the village walls the town seemed to extend into a large cave that lit up with bright lights of a small city that only had the entrance of the cave to supply natural light.

"This is the village of Iwame, if you are looking for a good time in the Land of Earth this is where people come. Skiing, Mountain climbing, basically any type of adventure holiday the rich civilians of the Elemental nations are looking for, this is the place to be." Asahi said with a small smile.

"You're really fond of this place aren't you?" Karin observed.

"You could say that. I was born here after all." the caravan owner answered.

"Really? But if you could make so much money here why did you leave?" Karin asked.

"I wanted to be a shinobi, ever since I was a little boy. Iwa would send teams out here for survival exercises. When it became apparent that I had a larger than normal chakra supply for a civilian family I was accepted into the Iwa academy. My parents were rather wealthy at that point so they came with me and I have only been back a few times since then." Asahi spoke fondly, he never regretted his decision to become an Iwa shinobi even if in the end things did not turn out as he had hoped.

"So how long do you plan on staying in the village old man?" Naruto asked.

"That really depends Gaki, I'll sell my stocks to local shops and then resupply on a few things. I would say a few days at most, besides there is" Asahi paused for a moment contemplating how to continue. "Something I want to check up on while I am here." he finished. 'I_'ll find out who you really are one way or another. Nothing about this kid makes sense. He said he left Konoha to bring peace yet at the same time said he is only a genin. Maybe if Iwa found out about a living relative of 'that man' it could lead to war? But that seems a rather simplistic view of things._' he added as an afterthought.

"Well just drop us off at a hotel, we need a place to stay for a few days until I can figure out our, uh, other arrangements." Naruto said not reading anything into what Asahi had said.

"There is a place that is not bad near the center of the village. You will find this town rather expensive so I hope you have money." Asahi said.

Naruto grimaced slightly his poor Gama-chan had taken a pounding from paying for their trip here and he still needed to purchase enough supplies to last. He had no idea if he would ever see civilization again once he left Iwame. Then he needed to buy a tent large enough for both himself and Karin as well as clothes warm enough to survive the freezing cold of the mountains.

Karin for her part also paled somewhat, she had the money to repay Naruto for the trip and maybe even enough for a week or so in a hotel but she had no idea how long the blond had planned to stay here and if she didn't know that then she wouldn't know what type of budget she needed. '_I wanted to go check out some of the attractions of the village, get away from Naruto and have some alone time_.' she thought grumpily as the caravan continued to move through the streets into the large cave that held the vast majority of the village.

They traveled for a few more minutes the streets were all lit with bright lamps held high in the air that almost simulated daylight. Often the stores didn't need to have there shops lit up the streets were so well lit. finally they came to a stop in front of a rather large and seemingly ancient building. The sign was faded and the bright sky blue paint was peeling off the stone walls. "It may not look like much but in this town you won't get better value for money." Asahi declared upon seeing the apprehensive looks on the faces of Naruto and Karin.

Naruto shrugged with his trademarked foxy grin and hopped down from the wagon. "I guess I can't really complain, this place is fine for me, are you coming Karin or are you going to find someplace else?"

Karin didn't like the look of the place at all particularly when she compared it to some of the other building. All around them were hotels and bath houses that looked like mansions tall white sparkling buildings that seemed to be so inviting.'_No way I'm staying in there, who does he think I am, some penniless peasant?_' she asked herself, unfortunately for the red haired Uzumaki the words she spoke were. "Yeah I'll come, it will be cheaper if we get a single apartment with two rooms anyway."

Naruto paused for a moment he never said anything about sharing a room but shook it off as she made sense. "Good point. Well I guess this is good bye for now old man. I hope you make a killing on your remaining stock." he said waving to Asahi while Karin hopped down from the caravan only just realizing that she had completely gone against what she had wanted to do.

"Yeah see ya around Gaki, good luck with your new life, you picked a good place to lie low that's for sure." Asahi replied returning Naruto's wave before his caravan began to move once again.

Once the wagon moved around the corner Naruto let out a sigh and turned back to the run down building that Asahi had recommended as a hotel. "Well shall we go get settled in?" Naruto asked.

Karin didn't say anything but nodded in agreement before following after the blond. '_He's right this is a perfect village to lay low half the year it's inaccessible and the only shinobi that come out here are from Iwa during a small period of survival exercises, maybe I could stay here, I wouldn't need to follow Naruto around for protection._' she thought before she was hit by a horrible realization. All she really knew how to do was be a shinobi or conduct rather questionable experiments on people, not exactly the right skill set for a civilian. '_But Asahi managed to make a life for himself, then again he was never high up on the list of most wanted criminals in the Elemental Nations._' she sighed at this thought and contented herself with feeling Naruto's chakra as they approached the entrance to the hotel.

If the outside of the hotel left much to be desired the interior blew their expectations out of the water and then continuously beat them with a very large stick. They stepped into a marble entrance hall lined with tall pillars that rose several floors up, several rather exotic plants scattered the walls and a raging fire was lit in a mantle at the far end of the room making the pair feel like they were in a tropical paradise. "Amazing." Naruto said, his eyes were wide in awe.

"If the interior looks like this then why does the outside look like it has lived through all of the shinobi wars?" Karin asked also in shock.

The pair was so stunned that they didn't notice the rather tall man with a thin black beard and matching hair who had come to greet them. Karin's question caused the man to chuckle quietly but still loud enough for two trained shinobi to hear. "The answer is quite simple miss, it is to chase away those that only see what is on the outside. Because of that we can offer quality rooms to the type of people who truly deserve them that cannot always afford it. We are looked down upon by our exterior appearance by the other hotels in the area so they never bother attempting to compete with our prices." the man said.

"But doesn't it chase away customers?" Karin asked slightly confused by the mans explanation.

"Only of those people who's business I do not wish to have anyway. In any event how may I help you two?" the man replied in a friendly tone.

"Uh we need a unit for a few nights, preferably one with two bedrooms if possible." Naruto said.

The man once more smiled and gave a curt bow before replying. "I believe we can facilitate your request. If you will come this way please."

"This guy is kinda weird." Naruto whispered into Karin's ear earning a small giggle in return.

"True but he does seem friendly and his chakra while only that of a civilians feels honest and trusting." Karin replied quietly.

"Do you check everyone's chakra like that?" Naruto asked.

The truth was that she very rarely did that, and the only reason she had was because she was still engrossing herself in Naruto's chakra. "I do when I find someone interesting." she lied convincingly. She had given up on discovering the blonds missing darkness a day ago but it did not take her long to go begin sensing his chakra again. She had convinced herself it was just to pass the time, but the truth was she enjoyed the warmth of his chakra it was like snuggling up with a warm blanket in front of a fire while snow fell outside.

The two shinobi were taken up several floors and then led them to a small apartment that was just as luxurious as the entrance had been. Naruto instantly realized that it was larger than his apartment had ever been. "Wow this is amazing. And there are two separate bedrooms?" Naruto asked.

"Indeed, they are at opposite sides of the room, you do have to share a bathroom I am afraid." the man said in a friendly tone.

"That's fine, thanks for the room." Naruto said.

The hotel worker nodded and exited the room with a curt bow, closing the door behind he had left Karin turned to look around, it was the nicest place she had ever been but she couldn't help but feel worried. "Are you sure we can afford this? I wasn't exactly payed well by Orochimaru." she admitted with some hesitation.

"It's fine, it's only for a few days, after that it could be a very long time before we are able to relax like this again." Naruto replied.

This just made Karin more confused. "I still don't know where we are going from here, I need to know so I can prepare. I'll need some new clothes as well and I don't want to buy anything that will be inappropriate." she said hoping to finally get some answers.

Naruto sighed and took a seat in a large comfy looking chair. "I'm heading out of the Elemental Nations and over the insurmountable peaks." he admitted.

"What! That's... That's suicide nobody has ever survived that trip. We will be killed." Karin gasped the idea was terrifying.

"Well nobody has ever come back, that doesn't mean that they died. But I can't live in this world without being recognized. Like you said my chakra is rather distinguishable and quite frankly so am I. If I use a henge someone is bound to recognize my chakra signature, and if I keep my chakra repressed they will be able to see who I am. This is my only option. But this place sounds perfect for you, I bet you could start a life here, then you wouldn't need to follow me around anymore. I'll pay for the hotel while I'm still here, you can save your money and look for some work." Naruto suggested.

"No." Karin replied angrily.

"Huh whats wrong?" Naruto asked confused. Naruto thought this would be the best thing for Karin and for himself in the long run.

"You're not getting rid of me that easily, If you're going then so am I." Karin said firmly. '_What the hell am I saying, this is suicide, I don't want to die because of some idiot that seems to have a death wish_.' despite the thought she had reacted instinctively when she thought Naruto was trying to ditch her.

"It will be dangerous, I said so before." Naruto warned, although he did like the thought of having a companion other than Kurama.

Again Karin seemed to be torn by what to do, her common sense told her to let Naruto go on his own and she would create a life for herself here, safely hidden away from the ninja world's prying eyes. The other half seemed to rebel against the thought of staying here alone and being abandoned again like she had been by Sasuke. "I don't care I'm coming. You promised I could! Sasuke said you were always big on keeping promises even if they were impossible, you're not going to go back on that now are you?" she finally said making up her mind even if she didn't understand why.

Naruto smiled in a reserved defeat, he hadn't counted on her bringing up his promise. "Alright, but there are some things we are going to need before we leave. We can start collecting them tomorrow, why don't you go enjoy what could be your last taste of civilization for the rest of the day." he said kindly.

"Right, uh thank you." Karin said and after placing what little possessions she had in her room she exited pausing for a moment at the door of the apartment. "Uh what are you going to do? You can come check out the village with me if you want." she said hesitantly.

"No that's fine I have some things to think about, like what we are going to need for our trip." Naruto decided.

"Okay... but you will be here when I get back right?" she asked suddenly feeling rather frightened that she would lose the blond.

"It's a promise." Naruto replied with a reassuring smile. Karin nodded returning a smile of her own before closing the door on her way out of the room.

'_So what do you think Kurama? She seems fairly determined to come with us_.' Naruto thought once the kunoichi was gone.

'**Seems to me like she has some abandonment issues. I sensed several conflicting emotions in her when you asked if she wanted to stay behind. If that is the case, then she might actually prove to be useful. She was unquestioningly loyal to her previous companions it's possible that could transfer over to you. Still I'm not convinced she can hold her own. It is also highly likely that she ****will need your help to survive the trip, thin air and freezing temperatures will slow her down while thanks to me you will be largely unaffected.**' Kurama replied calmly.

'_Will that lower my chances of survival?_' Naruto asked.

'**No not really, it will make travel slower but as long as the food and water lasts so will you. Once we are safely past this village it will be safe to draw on even my chakra without it being felt. So as long as we keep moving I have no doubts we will be fine**.' the large fox answered with some confidence.

'_So really the only problem with taking Karin with us is keeping her alive then_.' Naruto surmised.

'**Essentially yes, as of yet the girl has not done anything to make me feel she is a danger to you.**' Kurama admitted. '**Doesn't mean I like the idea though.**' he added once more making his dislike for the Uzumaki kunoichi known.

"Yeah but a promise is a promise." Naruto said out loud with a sigh. The blond slumped back in the chair before he started making a mental note of what they would need for their journey.

**End Chapter!**

**Another chapter down, Maybe I'm moving things a little slowly but I feel the need to explain things more in this story than my others as I'm not working within the confines of the cannon. So the people and Places are new and therefore require more of a description. Anyway until next time bye. **


	7. A Long Afternoon

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 7 A Long Afternoon **

Karin walked through the streets of the underground city still struggling to come to terms with the fact that she may well have agreed to follow Naruto to her death. '_What was I thinking! It should have been so easy for me to just to say thanks for taking me this far, then leave him to go die on top of some Kami forsaken mountain. But I just couldn't do it._' she contemplated while looking around in the artificial daylight of Iwame.

The kunoichi didn't know why but the thought of Naruto leaving without her was quite painful. Just the thought of it made Karin quickly search for Naruto's chakra signature and let out a sigh of relief when she felt him still at the hotel.

After a short walk through the rather busy streets Karin found herself in a large town square. In the center was a large fountain that lit up the water in various colors, and several children were sitting at the edges trying to catch fish that lived in the water at the base. The area was lined with what seemed like high end stores each selling different types of products. It was as if all stores had their own specialty and none of the others would even think of competing.

Another thing that Karin instantly noticed was that where ever she looked the people wore high quality clothing, in comparison she looked like a street beggar. She only had two sets of clothes, the ones given to her in Konoha and the set she was wearing when Sasuke had almost killed her, by this time both were looking a little worse for wear. Only now was she so self conscious of how badly scuffed and worn they both were. '_I'm going to need some new clothes anyway, why not buy some stuff now?_' she thought making her way over towards what appeared to be a large clothing store.

Upon entering the store Karin was instantly approached by several store clerks. "Good afternoon miss, it seems you are in desperate need of a new look." a young woman a few years older than Karin said. She had shoulder length black hair that was pulled back into a short ponytail and dark blue eyes. She wore what appeared to be the store uniform of a light blue button up shirt and black trousers.

Ignoring the rather obvious insult for the time being Karin nodded. "I've been traveling for quite some time and I need some new clothes. Some warm ones for mountain climbing as well." she said not wanting to cause a scene.

"Yes you certainly have the look of someone in Iwame for mountaineering." The woman said not at all trying to mask her insults of Karin's current appearance.

'_Wow what a bitch, I should teach her some manners._' Karin raged angrily but calmed herself knowing she needed to stay under the radar. "Look can you help me or not?" she asked eventually in a rather aggressive tone.

"I can certainly try, this way please." the woman said leading Karin to a large section of the store that sold survival equipment. "I trust that you know your size. I believe some of the larger items are sold out however." the store clerk said once more insulting Karin.

"That's fine, In fact I'm wearing baggy clothing, in case you hadn't noticed." the kunoichi replied through clenched teeth as calmly and kindly as she could muster.

"Oh of course, how silly of me I guess I was just distracted by the state of your attire." the woman spoke, a small smirk gracing her features.

"Well thank you for showing me here, I can handle the rest on my own thank you." Karin replied, her anger at the woman steadily building.

"I'm sorry it is store policy to stay with our customers to be sure they are not attempting to steal." the woman said with a good deal of fake sweetness in her voice. She also decided to ignore the fact that all around the store there were families shopping alone. '_Maybe she doesn't trust me because of how I look at the moment?_' The kunoichi reasoned.

Karin just shook her head and tried to ignore the woman's snide remarks as she searched through racks of clothing. Eventually she picked out a tight fitting black undershirt that could be used when it was too hot to wear the lavender and blue ski jacket and pants that she picked out for warmth. She didn't know much about the Insurmountable peaks but one thing that she did know was that it would be cold. She also grabbed several sets of tight black pants and short sleeve tops of various colors on the off chance that should they actually survive the trip, where they were going was warm. It was quite expensive but Karin couldn't care less after all for all she knew they didn't even have people where she was going let alone stores.

"You seem to have quite a lot of stuff, was that your only outfit or something?" the rather rude woman asked.

Karin's nerve was running thin everything she did was criticized and everything ended in an insult. "It wouldn't matter if it was, I'm traveling and I happened to like these clothes not I suggest you do your job and take my money so I can leave." she said firmly.

Karin finished paying for her clothes and decided to return to her room to drop them off, she could come back later to explore, the village more and this woman had put her in a rather bad mood, something that Naruto picked up on the moment she opened the door. "Whats wrong?" he asked as she stalked into the small hotel apartment.

"Nothing I just had a hard time buying some clothes I liked." Karin said not willing to say that she was upset by a store clerk.

"Really where was the store? I need to get some warmer clothes myself." Naruto asked hoping she wasn't in such a bad mood as to refuse his question.

"There is a large shopping district not far from here, the clothes store has everything you will need. I can show you later if you want?" Karin offered slightly reluctantly as she had no real desire to be anywhere near that woman again.

"That would be awesome. In that case, I'll buy us some dinner afterword, as thanks then." Naruto replied offhandedly.

Karin flushed slightly red although Naruto didn't see as he was busy making a list of things he would need to survive for a few months in the wilderness. "Y-y-you mean like a d..date?" she said her voice shaking slightly unsure how to respond to such a thing.

Naruto as always just expected the worst and turned shaking his hands defensively. "No not like that, it's just as a thank you for helping me out." he said slightly hoping Karin took the subject of dinner with him better than Sakura ever had.

"Oh, in that case sure. It's not like we wont be eating alone together at times from now on anyway." Karin said with a smile she felt both relieved and yet disappointed at the same time by Naruto's declaration that it wasn't a date. "Just let me go jump in the shower and get changed and we can go." she added before entering her room to drop off her clothes and pick out a pair to wear before entering the bathroom.

When the kunoichi exited the bathroom she had her hair tied back because it was still slightly wet from the shower and was wearing long black trousers, her baggy and worn top was replaced by a navy blue shirt that clung to her figure. This was the first time Naruto had seen her in any attire that didn't completely hide her curves and he was currently at a loss to explain why she would want to. At only sixteen she was still developing but she had the makings of a fine hourglass figure, hips and chest well proportioned for someone her age. "I like your new look." Naruto said with a friendly tone. If he was smart he would have stopped there, unfortunately Naruto was rarely smart when it came to the fairer sex. "It's much better than the bulky jacket you were wearing, you look like a real woman now."

Karin went red with a mixture of a blush at the compliment and anger. "Are you saying I looked like a man before!?" she asked half yelling in a threatening tone.

Naruto paled and shook held his hands up in a defensive position fearing the worst. "No I'm sorry I was just saying that you looked really cute and pretty, I didn't mean anything by it. I'm sorry!" he said really quickly hoping to calm the kunoichi before she hit him. He paused for a moment when no pain followed. '_Huh that's strange usually I would be embedded in a wall by now_.' he thought.

Kurama chuckled at this thought. '**As much as I find your perceptions amusing, not every female is as violent as the pink haired one. If you spent more time with others you may have found that out by now.**' The fox lectured. He was never a big fan of Sakura, her tendency to do nothing of any real use seemed to irk the fox even before he and Naruto became friends.

Karin had found Naruto's cowering quite humorous but the declaration that he said she was cute made her blush return. '_Damn, what is wrong with me, I can't be getting all flustered from what was just a simple compliment. Well he is the first person to tell me that they liked how I looked, but still only a compliment._' She thought stalking past the blond over to the entrance to the Hotel room. "Come on idiot, if we don't get a move on the store will close and you won't be able to get any new clothes." she said while opening the door and stalking outside.

'_She seems mad._' Naruto fretted before getting up and following after Karin. "Hey wait up!" the blond called after the kunoichi who had continued to walk away.

Karin pretended not to hear but in the end it didn't matter, even without using chakra Naruto was much faster than the red head. "Oh you decided to show up after all. Well come on, maybe we can find something that will make you look like a real man." she said throwing Naruto's words back at him.

Naruto wanted to ask what was wrong with the clothes he had on, but decided against it enough people made fun of his orange jumpsuits for him to know that maybe he didn't know that much about fashion. So it was possible that his choice of civilian attire may not have been any better, he didn't really care though. He just wore what he liked.

The rest of the walk was in almost complete silence making both teens thankful that it was only a short trip from their room to the large town square. Without speaking Karin led the blond to the clothing store and couldn't help but grimace as the same store clerk came to serve them. "I'm sorry we don't do returns, but if it makes you feel any better if you lost a few pounds the top would fit perfectly." she said taking great pleasure out of her veiled insult.

"I don't think so, it looks fine to me." Naruto said having just over heard the end of the conversation.

The woman turned her head to reply in her usual condescending manner when she stopped. In this country Naruto was somewhat unique, his sun kissed skin, spiky golden locks and Azure blue eyes all left the woman quite speechless. After getting over her initial shock she completely forgot all about Karin. "How may I help you today sir?" she asked in a happy and professional tone.

"Well I'm looking for some rather practical clothes. I'm going to be climbing mountains so I need something warm." Naruto said.

"Ah yes right this way sir." the store clerk replied and latched onto his arms.

Karin for her part was in a stunned rage. She didn't know what was worse, the woman assuming she was here to return the clothes she brought and saying she needed to lose a few pounds, or her unashamed flirting with Naruto. She didn't snap back into reality until the pair were several feet away, making the female Uzumaki catch up.

"So do you see anything you like? Or maybe you would like some help choosing?" the store clerk said once guiding Naruto to the right section of the store. The area was filled to the ceiling with outfits of varying sizes each made for the severe cold.

"Uh I guess I could use some help, I've always been told I have bad taste when it comes to clothing." Naruto chuckled rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"I see, well in that case let me take a look at you and see what we are working with." the store clerk said and quickly yanked the shirt off Naruto's back. She was instantly forced to repress a blush while silently admiring the view.

"Hey!?" Naruto yelled in surprise. He wasn't angry as he just assumed she was doing her job, but it was still a little sudden.

This was the scene that Karin walked in on when she finally caught up with the pair. "What the hell is going on here!?" she asked in shock. When Naruto turned to face her she turned a shade of red that only Hinata had ever been able to achieve. Naruto had always been well toned but his sage training and then the war had left him looking as though he was carved out of stone and the seal on his stomach and one scar that sat just to the side of his heart were the only blemish that made him seem unrefined yet dangerous at the same time.

"So that's why I have my shirt off." Naruto finished explaining only to then realize that Karin had a far away look in her eyes and was bright red.

'**I think you broke her**." Kurama chuckled.

'_What did I do? What's wrong with her?_' Naruto asked urgently quickly going over to check on the dazed kunoichi.

'**Nothing you should concern yourself with at the moment that's for sure.**' the fox answered cryptically.

'_Good to see you're as helpful as ever_.' Naruto replied with a deadpan expression.

The store clerk saw Karin's reaction and decided that she would have a little fun with the pair. "Oh I'm sorry I had no idea your girlfriend would react like that, is she alright?" she asked sweetly.

"Yeah I think so. But she's not my girlfriend." Naruto replied. The sound of talking had finally woken Karin from her minds slumber.

"Oh I didn't mean to say anything that I shouldn't, I just assumed with the way she was following you around, that you were spoken for. So if she isn't your girlfriend then what is she?" the store clerk said getting closer to the blond in slightly bold move. She had initially wanted to flirt with Naruto in order to get under the kunoichi's skin but finding out he was single, and what some would call a perfect physical specimen her goals had changed.

"I guess that we are traveling companions. We only got to the village today and our clothes were a bit worn. So that's why we are here." Naruto explained.

"So I guess you don't know your way around the village then? Maybe when I get off my shift we could go grab something to eat then I could show you around." The woman said tracing her hand softly down his abs in a not so subtle hint at what she really wanted.

'_Are you kidding me! This bitch is going after Naruto? Well there is no way I'm going to let that happen_.' Karin thought, the thought of Naruto and this woman together made her very angry mostly because of how badly she had been treated earlier on that day. "Sorry but Naruto can't tonight, he already promised to take me out for dinner." she snapped once more making her presence known.

"Oh but I am sure you can reschedule something so trivial, right? You two are travel companions so you should be used to eating together." the store clerk said only taking her attention away from Naruto for a second to smirk at Karin who was glaring at her.

'_What the hell is with this woman, from the moment I entered the store she has been looking down on me, but I'm not letting you have your way this time, I can't make a scene but I sure as hell wont let her do what she wants with Naruto_.' Karin mused.

Naruto was not exactly sure what was going on but could sense that Karin was not happy, he didn't even need to be channeling Kurama's chakra to see that. "Look thank you for the offer, but Karin is right, I promised her dinner so I'll have to turn down your offer this time, sorry." he said.

The woman's tone changed immediately. "What am I not pretty enough for you?" she asked agressively. "Or maybe you just prefer that nerdy bitch with the glasses."

"Enough!" Naruto said. His voice held so much power and commanded respect while not being overly loud. "I don't know what your problem with Karin is but you will not speak to her like that while I'm around. Now apologize then get out of my sight!" He ordered for the first time looking like the experienced shinobi that was the hero in a war.

The store clerk seemed to visibly shrink under Naruto's intense gaze and she slowly nodded. "I... I'm sorry, for how I behaved." she said before running away back to the front of the store.

"Wow." Karin gasped in shock struggling to come to terms with what just happened.

"Uh sorry about that, but the way she was speaking about you was not right. She didn't even know you and was judging you from what she had seen. I lived through something not at all dissimilar so I know how painful words and stares can be." Naruto admitted.

Karin was at a loss for words, Naruto continued to surprise her. She never expected him to defend her in such a way. In fact nobody had ever stood up for her like that before. She had often dreamed of Sasuke defending her honor when she was just a few years younger but she soon found out he was never going to be that type of person, that was unless it helped him achieve what ever goal he had. "Nobody has ever done something like that for me before." she said her voice still weak from being in shock.

"Well they shouldn't ever have to. Nobody should talk to you or anyone else like that. Anyway I chased the store assistant away, so do you think you can help me pick out some clothes?" Naruto replied hoping to get back to the reason why they came to the store in the first place.

Karin nodded, more than happy to help Naruto out after what he had done. "Uh yeah sure. But can you do something for me first?"

"Sure what is it?" he asked happily.

"Can you put your shirt back on? It's kinda... distracting." Karin admitted another small blush crossing her cheeks.

"Oh right sorry." Naruto replied.

Once decent again Karin began looking over the different styles of clothing. "They don't have any ninja stuff here obviously but maybe you should grab some stuff that will be easy to move in, try these." Karin said handing Naruto a jet black turtle neck top that fit perfectly.

"It's good, but I don't think this is going to be warm enough." Naruto said inspecting the thin woolen material.

"Of course it's not, but you wear that underneath a jacket as an extra layer. Besides with any luck it we wont be living in the snow on top of some mountain for the rest of out lives." Karin retorted handing the blond a thick black and red jacket,lined with furs making it instantly warm and comfortable.

"Okay now I get it, if it was me I would have just grabbed the first set of thermal jacket and pants that I came across." Naruto chuckled.

"Baka." she scolded shaking her head. "Do you want to get anything else? Maybe some clothes for when we get to the other side? The mountains don't go on forever so it might be a good idea to grab some clothes for warmer climates?" she added.

"It might be a good idea, but with all the food and camping supplies we need to take I don't want to be weighed down by anything unnecessary. So this stuff will have to do, just grab me a few more of the shirts to wear under the jacket and we can go, I did promise you dinner after all." Naruto said happily.

"Then what are we waiting for. Lets pay for this stuff and get out of here... And you better take me somewhere nice, I want to enjoy my last few days in civilization and that means eating well." Karin delared.

Naruto could almost hear his beloved Gama-chan crying from the hammering it was about to take. True to her word Karin found what looked like the most expensive place in the whole village, it was several floors tall each with a different style of food. Or as they called it cuisine from around the Elemental Nations. Each of the great nations had a floor specifically designed to match it's scenery. Naruto found the Land of Water most interesting as it was designed like an aquarium, the walls were all large fish tanks filled with exotic species of fish that Naruto had never seen before. "What about this one?" Naruto asked hoping to have a better look around.

"You think I'm having sea food as my last proper meal? No that's way too cheap." Karin replied enjoying the fact that Naruto hadn't even argued and let her tack command.

"That's not true, what about lobsters? Those bastards are expensive." Naruto said in a matter of fact tone.

"Hm well as tempting as that is I think I'll still pass." came Karin's joyous reply.

'**See what happens when you don't listen to me? I told you that we should have just killed her back when she found the caravan. And now look, she's being difficult. I say that's a point for me**.' Kurama said as they walked past the Land of Water room.

'_I can't just go around killing people because they're being difficult. Besides I don't mind so much, from what I can tell she hasn't had many people treat her with any kindness or respect so letting her choose what we have for dinner is nothing special._' Naruto replied.

'**Gah fine, just don't become attached to her. I shouldn't need to remind you that she was once trying to hunt you down and kill you.**' the fox replied in annoyance.

'_Hm where have I heard something similar before? Oh now I remember it was you telling me that you would rip me apart limb from limb. I have no intention of growing attached to Karin, but if I can convince you to be my friend and give up on hatred, then I can deal with her._' Naruto replied confidently.

One at a time Naruto and Karin moved passed the other rooms. Each depicting the environment of the individual nation. Finally the kunoichi came to a stop at a door into a room looked like a well lit forest floor. The wooden tables looked like tree stumps. Instantly Naruto felt a hint of nostalgia. "The Land of Fire." he said almost longingly. It perfectly reminded him of the forests around Konoha, almost to the point that he thought it may have been some genjutsu.

"We'll eat here, seems like the room chose us." Karin said dragging Naruto into the forested room.

"Why did you pick this room?" Naruto asked quite pleased that she did.

Karin smirked at the question. "Well for one the Land of Earth and Land of Fire rarely trade with each other so the food from here will be the most expensive." she informed him.

"Oh" Naruto said with a week chuckle knowing he was going to be significantly lower in pay after this.

"But what made up my mind was your reaction. This was where you wanted to eat, not just out of interest in some stupid fish, that would have distracted you from the food." she added honestly.

"And that seafood despite the fact we are quite possible the furthest distance away from water in the elemental nations making it far more expensive than anything else is still too cheap right?." Naruto added with a smirk of his own. A waiter came and took their orders, before exiting without further word.

"I didn't think about that." Karin admitted with a face palm. "Oh well this place is nicer anyway. I think if I was going to settle down somewhere it would be in a place like this. I always secretly hoped that Sasuke would go back to Konoha and take me with him." she sighed.

Naruto burst out laughing at this. "That sounds just like Sakura-chan and Ino when they were younger. Always chasing after Sasuke trying to 'mend his wounded heart'. I never understood what everyone saw in him? I mean he never said anything unless you were a fan of ape like grunting." Naruto laughed.

Karin had to face palm again. She had had rather similar thoughts about Sasuke at times. "I guess I was not much better at all. Maybe I was just a little girl with a crush, I thought his dark attitude was cool. Well that was up to the point he killed that Danzo guy, and stabbed me in the chest."

"Nothing like a chidori to the chest to give you a wake up call. It made me realize that I needed to be far stronger if I ever wanted to achieve any of my dreams." Naruto said subconsciously rubbing the scar on his chest.

Karin remembered the scar on Naruto's chest from when he took off his shirt and then placed her hand against her own scar that Sasuke had caused. It was thin and thanks to Sakura healing it almost immediately after the incident, it was all but invisible. In her mind however the image remained, she would often have nightmares of the scene playing over and over in her head. "Did it hurt? I was so stunned at what happened that when he hit me with the jutsu I didn't even feel anything, well at least I didn't feel any pain." Karin asked. The attack had crushed her emotionally, that pain had lasted long after the physical wound had been healed.

"That's a difficult question, I can't even remember it, I wasn't exactly myself when I was fighting and I blacked out almost instantly after. I would have died but I have a natural healing ability, and paired with uh... my other gift, allowed my body to heal." Naruto admitted.

"You have a healing ability?" Karin asked slightly surprised, she was the only person that she knew with chakra that had healing qualities.

"Yeah I thought for a long time it was just luck or something else healing me so quickly." Naruto said looking down at his stomach indicating the seal.

"The Kyuubi?" she guessed in a hushed whisper being extra careful that nobody could hear.

Naruto nodded slowly, he had guessed Karin knew about his Bijuu but had decided not to bring the topic up."Yeah, but it turns out his chakra doesn't heal me at all, it was my own natural ability to heal that was healing me, and when I used Kurama's chakra it sort of super powered the ability." Naruto admittied.

"Oh... wait, Kurama?" Karin questioned.

Naruto paused and made sure nobody was in earshot beofre speaking. "The Bijuu all have names, they all told me their names before giving me some of their power to fight Obito and Madara. Kurama is the Kyuubi's name." he explained.

"Amazing, every time I think I have you figured out you say or do something that completely stuns me." The kunoichi admitted in awe.

"Well they did call me Konoha's number one unpredictable knuckle head ninja." although at the time I think it was partly an insult." Naruto replied rubbing the side of his head trying to decide on what Kakashi had meant all those years ago by giving him that title.

Karin for her part giggled at the thought. "I think that it sums you up perfectly." she agreed.

The waiter returned bringing their food and they sat and ate, quietly talking about this and that. The most common topic of discussion was their pasts and often Sasuke although neither really enjoyed talking about the desist Uchiha for long.

After paying for their dinner the two teens walked home still talking lively about the things they like and dislike. "This was actually quite fun. Thank you for taking me out tonight." Karin said honestly when they began to head towards their own bedrooms.

"It was nothing, what are friends for. Besides if we're going to travel together we should at least get used to being in each others company." Naruto replied with his friendly smile. "Well good night Karin. There is a lot of stuff to do tomorrow." and with that Naruto entered his room the door closing shut behind him.

**End Chapter!**

**Not much happened this chapter I know, I wanted to spend a chapter on the character development of Karin, that will begin to lead the pair towards a relationship. Focusing mainly the fact that it is highly likely she had never been around anyone like Naruto for a worthwhile period of time so his kind and happy nature is still somewhat foreign to her. Also indicating any feelings she may already be having for the blond she brushes them off as something else, not wanting to feel anything for Naruto.**

**In any event thanks for reading. Suggestions for what you would like to see happen are always welcome, and don't be afraid to criticize I can take it... I hope lol.**


	8. Early Departure

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 8 Early Departure **

Karin lay awake that night, for some reason she was unable to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes and managed to drift off, the scene of Sasuke's Chidori blade piercing her chest would almost instantly run though her mind shocking her back awake. A lone tear rolled down her cheek as this happened for the fifth time that night. '_What is wrong with me?_' she sobbed quietly. Her arms wrapping around her knees, unable to take the feeling of pain and betrayal anymore. She should have been happy, for the first time in weeks she had a bed to sleep on, had her own free space and didn't have Naruto lightly snoring away at the other side of a small cramped caravan.

Karin fell back her head caught by the soft pillow supplied by the hotel and once more closed her eyes hoping sleep she knew however that her dream would always end as Sasuke's jutsu shot through her chest, the shock would always jolt her awake at that point.

A quick glance at the bedside clock told her it was still early in the morning three thirty to be precise. "Now what do I do?" she asked herself not wanting to fall back asleep as she knew Sasuke would be there waiting for her. "He's dead. He can't hurt me again." she told herself hoping to calm down enough to close her eyes and drift off into blissful unconsciousness. Her eyes were sore from waking up so often and her body was screaming in protest, begging for more rest. She rolled over to look out the small window in her room that looked over the underground village of Iwame.

Unable to let sleep take her, the young kunoichi allowed herself to scan what chakra signatures were in the area. Karin instantly felt the world around her come alive. Hundreds of small dim lights sprung up in her mind. To pass some time she found Asahi all the way over the other side of the village, he was alone in a small room she could tell that he was still awake despite the late hour. His was easily the second strongest chakra signature in the village. The first was of course far closer and she had been doing her best to ignore the chakra of Naruto in the other room. She found it quite distracting, how could she focus on anyone else when he was there shining like a small version of the sun.

After a short time Karin had explored most of the interesting chakra signatures in the village. It did not take as long as she had hoped, but a village full of civilians was never going to hold many interesting chakra signatures. She sighed and slowly turned her focus onto Naruto's chakra, she could instantly tell he was asleep, his chakra while still warm was calm and relaxing. So relaxing in fact that the kunoichi's eyes began to grow heavy, she forgot all about Sasuke and her nightmares as she was now lost in Naruto's chakra. For the first time in a long time Karin felt truly safe. 'He really is amazing.' Those were the last thoughts that ran through her mind as she faded off to sleep, not for the first time that night but certainly the last.

(**The Next Morning**)

Naruto awoke early, he had quite a lot of things he needed to do, not only did he need all the remaining mountaineering gear, he also needed to purchase as much long life food that he could seal into the few storage scrolls he had. He contemplated summoning one of the toads to bring him more sealing scrolls but decided against it. Even if he was the only shinobi present summoning toads is something that anyone would be able to recall should anyone come this far up looking for the blond, or Karin for that matter.

Naruto slowly got dressed into the new outfit Karin had picked out for him. Although they were all civilian clothes and offered no protection what so ever when it came to being struck with jutsu or weapons Naruto had to admit that the all black outift would be perfect for most Anbu. Once satisfied with his state of dress the jinchuuriki exited his room and into the living area of the hotel apartment he was sharing with Karin. 'Looks like she's not awake yet.' he thought as he quietly crossed the room and moved towards the exit. '_Better let her sleep, I doubt she will want me to wake her up anyway._'

Upon leaving the hotel Naruto briskly made his way towards the town square that housed the clothing store and the restaurant he and Karin visited the day before. He found a small cafe that sold breakfast, unfortunately he could not find a place that sold ramen so early in the morning. Once he had finished his meal the Kyuubi jinchuuriki set off to work, looking for all supplies he and Karin would need.

(**Border of the Land of Fire**)

Team eight and Neji arrived in a small town on the northern border of the land of fire, several ninja supply stores littered the streets making it clear that the village was a common rendezvous point for Konoha shinobi.

"Sai is supposed to meet us somewhere in the village." Neji informed the group.

Kiba scoffed in mild annoyance. "What good is that, he could be anywhere in here."

Shino nodded in agreement but was less worried. "That may be the point Kiba, how can we find our target who could be anywhere in the elemental nations if we cannot find our own companion in a small village such as this." he reasoned in his classic, stoic manner.

"It just sounds like a waste of time to me." Kiba replied. Despite having calmed down somewhat in the last few years since he graduated the ninja academy Kiba was still brash and impulsive at times, tending to rush into things in hopes of proving himself without a plan, something that ha often backfired on the young Inuzuka from time to time. "Well if we have to find him let's not waste any time!" he declared, racing off with Akamaru into the village.

"Foolish." Neji spoke quietly.

"I agree, Kiba is not overly familiar with Sai's scent so locating him will be easier for you or Hinata." Shino droned.

"Ano, then maybe we should go after him, make sure he doesn't get into any trouble." Hinata replied slightly embarrassed for her teammate.

"Hinata is right, Sai is probably watching that fool make and idiot out of himself as we speak." Neji said. On his orders the three remaining Konoha shinobi began walking further into the village while not as fast as Kiba they could tell that he hadn't gone far.

They caught up with Kiba in the center of the village randomly sniffing the air. "Any luck yet?" Neji asked already knowing the answer.

"No are you sure he is even here?" Kiba huffed.

Neji nodded, not at all surprised that Kiba was unsuccessful. "If this is indeed a test then he will likely have modified his scent with a genjutsu, you would either need to have a strong familiarity with Sai, or a item of his clothing to be able to locate him like that. Then I am sure he will have put on a henge up. Neither Hinata or myself know Sai well enough to identify him from his chakra alone, with that said I believe Shino's beetles will be the quickest way of locating Sai." he informed the group.

"That does seem the most logical solution. My beetles will be able to find Sai in only a few minutes." Shino agreed. Like most Aburame Shino was highly logical and would always think things through before acting. For this same reason Shino's beetles already knew what Sai's chakra tasted like, so the insect loving chunin had little doubt that he could find Sai in no time at all.

"Then you know what to do." Neji replied. Shino nodded and a small swarm of beetles spread out from the Aburame quickly moving through the village landing on every person for a split second, just long enough to taste their chakra.

As he predicted less than five minutes later a small beetle returned to land on Shino's outstretched index finger. "Sai is sitting atop a building one block to the south watching us." he informed the group.

"Lead the way." Neji said curtly.

Shino nodded and jumped up onto a nearby roof, for ninja it was only two jumps before they landed next to what looked like an elderly man painting part of the village. "You're late." Sai informed the group lowering his Henge. Sai was a very thin teenage boy with short black hair and eyes to match. He wore all black that seemed to accent just how pale his skin really was. On his back he carried a backpack containing ink and scrolls and a Tanto.

"Well you didn't meet us at the rendezvous point!" Kiba accused the pale dark haired shinobi.

"That is not true, this village was the rendezvous point and I was inside the village, you ran into the center of town brazenly searching for me as though I would simply step out and greet you. When in the field Anbu are supposed to remain hidden, even from their allies. A mission as a double agent or infiltration can be given away as easily as having a friendly shinobi smile at you." Sai informed with a fake smile that nobody found believable.

Kiba for his part was left speechless, he wanted to argue that this wasn't an undercover mission and he was wasting time. Unfortunately for the Inuzuka the only thing that escaped his mouth were incoherent nothings.

"I read a book that said that people who cannot form words properly, often have a speech disorder or suffer from low intelligence. In both cases the book said these people are often self conscious or their disability." Sai said while wondering if Kiba was one such person. Sai had been trained to suppress all emotions during his training in the now disbanded Root faction of Anbu. Since he met Naruto however he has been trying to reclaim that part of his humanity. Despite this fact, he still has difficulty understanding certain situations, often ending up with him insulting one of his would be friends.

Kiba was about to yell at Sai for his unknown insult but he was cut off by Neji. "In any case we have found you now. Our mission was to rendezvous with you and get the report on what leads you have on the location of one of Sasuke's former companions Karin."

Sai nodded and turned to Neji handing him a scroll. "There is not much to tell, I have been searching all of Orochimaru's former hideouts to the north in search of her. Several had been used and I suspect she had been there at one stage." he said.

"So she moved on, but to where?" Hinata said glad that they had at least one lead to go on.

"It seems she was heading north east. Towards the Land of Lightning. As to why she would be heading to where all the Alliance shinobi were upon leaving Konoha I could not say. If I had to guess, I would say she was looking for Sasuke." Sai replied.

"Ano, why would she be searching for Sasuke? Didn't he almost kill her? If it was me, I would be trying to help the person most likely to kill Sasuke." Hinata reasoned.

Sai didn't really follow, but in his defense the choice Hinata had outlined was one based on emotions rather than logic. Sai saw it as an escaped criminal trying to rejoin their group. Hinata saw it as a heart broken girl wanting revenge. Both were wrong but Hinata was far closer to the truth. "Both are possible scenarios, but neither matter to us. Her reasons are her own, our task is to locate the criminal and return her to Konoha to stand trial. Simple as that." Neji finally spoke.

"You would make a good member of Anbu Neji, you too Shino. I don't think Kiba and Hinata have the right mindset for the job though." Sai said getting to his feet.

Hinata didn't mind, being a member of Anbu was never something that she considered as a career path. If anything she wanted to become a sensei like Kurenai, but she knew that she was a long way from that level yet. In fact kurenai even told her once that compared to Kakashi and Asuma, her fellow sensei of the passing students she was by far the weakest when it came to combat. Kakashi's sharingan would see through her Genjutsu making it no contest, and Asuma was a member of the twelve guardians, a position that is not simply handed to anyone.

Kiba for his part was just muttering to himself about not wanting to be a black ops ninja anyway. He only stopped when Shino decided to speak. "Where do we start our search? Perhaps it would be best to return to the last place that you suspected Karin to be, we might find some trace of her there. A torn piece of clothing, if the place had been closed up long enough there may even be some feint traces of her chakra remaining for my beetles to analyze." the Aburame suggested.

"I would certainly agree. Sai how far do we need to travel to reach Karin's last suspected location?" Neji asked.

"Half a day north east, on foot that is. We need to go in that direction anyway." Sai replied. Without need for any orders sair took out a large scroll of paper and a bottle of ink. In a flash he painted four large birds that sprung to life off the page and landed infront of the shinobi. Neji and Hinata shared a bird while the others each took their own. It took quite a bit of convincing to tempt Akamaru to trust Sai's creation but eventually the four birds took off flying high over the country side heading in the required direction.

(**Land of Earth**)

Several hours had passed and Naruto had collected all of the essentials he and Karin would need for their trip he left the store with a large bag that contained a qick to set up wind proof tent for the coldest climates and several small portable flame heaters that the store owner explained ran on chakra. Even civilians could use chakra if there was an object that allowed it. Naruto grabbed a few, because the heaters were also used to cook on having a small stove top and canister to boil water from snow.

Naruto walked slowly back towards his hotel room, the large backpack close to overflowing behind him. '**Naruto, do you feel that?**' Kurama asked seriously.'

'_Yeah, we're being followed. I can't say what they want though._' Naruto replied. He didn't know what anyone would want with him, he just hoped it wasn't someone who knew who he was or why he was in Iwame.

Kurama grunted in agreement. Their stalker as of this moment had no intent to harm his container, but he knew all too well that that could change in an instant. '**You need to deal with them before we can move on. For what ever reason they know you're not a normal civilian.**' the fox warned his jinchuuriki.

Naruto let out a sigh and nodded before turning around slowly. The streets looked deserted, the sun would still have been rather low in the sky so many of the surrounding villagers and tourists were still asleep. "You can come out, I know you're following me!" Naruto said firmly, his voice seemed to echo for a short while bouncing off the thick walls of the surrounding buildings.

For a few moments nothing happened. Naruto was about to call out again when a man in full body armor all in black contrasting a snow white mask that covered his entire face, landed atop one of the nearby building. "You have some talent as a sensor it would seem." the man said, his voice was augmented by his mask making it sound deep and distorted. The effect gave the man a mysterious feel and Naruto could tell the man was well above the level of most shinobi.

"What do you want!?" Naruto asked assertively. He was confident that he could deal with the masked man, after all he had defeated Madara Uchiha. Regardless of this fact he was also well aware that he only had one kunai and no shuriken. He also knew he had no time to collect Senjutsu and the sheer power of his Fox cloak would raise the attention of Iwa, something he had no desire to do.

The masked man didn't answer instead he drew two kunai and launched them both at the blond. Naruto scowled slightly and created two clones without seals that both caught a kunai moments before they hit Naruto in the chest. "So it would appear that you are not just a talented sensor, that is quite some mastery of shadow clones." the masked man said, his voice hiding any surprise that may have been in his voice.

"If you want to do this then can we at least take it somewhere else? Innocents could be hurt if we fight here." Naruto said removing the pack holding all his supplies and handing it to one of his clones. "Take that to the Hotel room." he ordered before taking the kunai from his clones and adding them to his own.

"If you wish, there is a shinobi training area a short way from here, follow me." the Man said. Naruto followed from a safe distance behind, he was not putting the chance of being attacked while traveling. It appeared that the masked man had a similar thought as he made sure to keep a kunai in his hand and one eye on his back as they jumped across the rooftops.

After running for about five minutes they came to a small opening in the cave that led out onto a snow covered field. Naruto instantly was glad that the sweater top that Karin had picked out was warm. The field, if it could be called that was on a steep slope, large rocks scattered the area and at the far end of the training area a cliff dropped down all the way to a small frozen river, Naruto didn't have to look down to know that he did not want to fall off. "Time to show me what you can really do young Namikaze." the masked man declared before peppering the blond with kunai.

'_Did he just say Namikaze!?_' Naruto wondered as he flipped away from the incoming projectiles. His mastery of Kurama's chakra had increased his speed even when he wasn't using the fox cloak, to control how fast he moved he needed to have almost perfect reflexes and muscle control.

'**I believe that he did, chances are this man must know you are somehow related to the Yondaime. That could be troublesome if they are from Iwa and unaware of your contributions in the war.**' Kurama replied. The fox already had a fairly good idea of who was behind the mask, but he couldn't be sure.

Naruto continued to dodge the incoming projectiles. Every so often Naruto would double back to collect some kunai to add to his pouch. 'Well that's just great!' Naruto thought sarcastically. '_I might be forced to kill this guy I can't have him returning to Iwa telling everybody about fighting against a relative of the Yondaime_.' he added.

Kurama smiled his old sinister smile. He may have lightened up but the giant fox still had a sinister side. '**Then what are we waiting for let's show him what happens when he messes with us!**'

Naruto nodded and created several clones that sped through the mans kunai expertly dodging the blades with ease. As they got close however the masked man withdrew two long chains before spinning to collect the clones as they came within range. The knowledge of the clones dispelling returned to Naruto and he cursed under his breath. The man was far too skilled with those chains to have any hope of defeating him easily.

"If you hope to defeat me you are going to need to start trying. I know that you are still suppressing a good deal of your chakra." the man declared.

"Fine if you are so eager for this fight to end then I'll play." Naruto answered the man. The top layer of snow around Naruto's feet visibly moved as he relented from suppressing his chakra.

Karin awoke with a jump as Naruto's chakra flared, she had been having such a wonderful dream but for the life of her she couldn't remember it. She was awoken again from her musings as she felt Naruto's chakra flare once more. She didn't even need to use her sensory technique to feel it at the moment. "What is he doing?" she asked herself as she got out of bed and pulled on a top and some pants. When she exited her room she made the discovery that Naruto was not in fact in their hotel room. She then became slightly worried. Quickly closing her eyes she decided to scan for his chakra signature. Instantly she found Naruto. 'He's fighting someone!' she gasped as she felt the second chakra signature and instantly ran out the door to their room almost falling over the large backpack Naruto had left behind with his clone.

Instantly Naruto's speed and strength increased, the masked man was forced to quickly back away before the blond was able to cross the distance. Only the two chains wrapped around his wrists kept Naruto at bay. Every so often a clone would sneak closer. '_He's tough, but he's still holding back I can feel it!_' the man thought before running through a set of hand seals. Once he finished his seals the masked man slammed his right foot into the ground and two large chunks of earth rose from the ground before speeding towards Naruto.

Naruto knew he could avoid the jutsu with ease however he decided to meet it head on. Quickly he created two clones and held both hands up. The masked mans eyes widened slightly behind his mask as two perfectly formed rasengan sprung to life in the teens hand.

The Doton jutsu didn't stand a chance, Naruto's rasengan easily overpowered it and to make matters worse the dust it kicked up obstructed the mask mans vision. '_Where is he?_' he asked looking around. At the last second he felt something coming from above and managed to roll out of the way of Naruto descending from the sky with another rasengan in hand. "Not bad Namikaze, for a kid. But you're still holding back, you're hiding something I can tell." the man declared.

"How can you be so sure?" Naruto asked. The truth was if you counted how much stronger Sage Mode and Bijuu Mode made him then he was still hiding a mighty large chunk of his strength, and he had no desire to bring either technique out to defeat this man.

"Simple, you're so confident despite failing to land a single hit yet." the man replied.

"Are you sure I can count one hit." Naruto replied his smirk growing.

The masked man puzzled over what Naruto had said for a moment before he felt the armor over his right arm crack and shatter. 'But a dodged his Rasengan! didn't I?' he gasped in shock. "How?"

"I made a second rasengan as I was coming down, I still have a little trouble making them without clones but I figured you would dodge so I didn't really have a choice. I wanted to see how durable that armor is. It must have been expensive." Naruto answered.

'_What is this kid. I'm beginning to see why they gave his old man a flee on sight order._' the masked man thought at the same time as Karin burst into the field.

"What are you doing here, get back Karin this isn't safe." Naruto said seeing the kunoichi out of the side of his eye.

'I wonder, he seems rather determined to keep his true abilities hidden. I need to try something different to coax them out of him.' the masked man thought.

Karin shook her head in defiance "But why are you fighting? That's-" But what ever it was that Karin was going to say was lost in her throat as she saw the masked man move and several kunai shot towards her, his aim was amazing and she was frozen in shock.

Naruto's eyes widened and he acted instinctively the distance seemed insurmountable and Naruto didn't have enough kunai or the skill with the blades necessary to block them all. As such he was reduced to his only remaining option.

Karin had closed her eyes, ready for the pain that was sure to follow. The only problem was nothing happened. She slowly opened one eye to peak out as if unsure that she was still actually still alive. What she saw though floored her. She landed on her knees in awe as Naruto stood defensively over her, his body covered in glowing yellow chakra that licked around him like flames. His normally spiky hair seemed to stand up higher and several dark markings ran around his body. "Are you okay?" Naruto asked Karin calmly.

She looked dumbstruck but nodded slowly. '_This chakra, it's overwhelming, I feel like I am going to suffocate. But it's still so warm and comforting._' she thought barely able to make a coherent thought.

"**Naruto that was foolish! Iwa will investigate a spike in chakra like this!**" Kurama said using Naruto's mouth to speak out loud.

"I know Kurama, but I couldn't just do nothing, she would have died." Naruto replied defensively.

"**That is exactly what you should have done! I told you keeping that girl around was dangerous and you didn't listen. If you get caught because of this it will be her fault.**" Kurama retorted.

Both Karin and the masked man watched the interchange with varying levels of curiosity and fear. "Maybe, but I didn't want to see her die. Shes... a friend, and I don't want to see any of my friends suffer because of me." Naruto answered sadly.

Karin felt her heart jump slightly but ignored it, she was far too preoccupied with the conversation Naruto was seemingly having with himself. "**Fine, lets just finish this man off. When this is over you can't afford to stay in this village any longer.**" Kurama huffed. Naruto nodded in acceptance and turned to face the masked man before simply disappearing.

The mask mans eyes shot wide open as he felt a pain in his stomach. He looked down and found Naruto's arm enbedded in his stomach, his armor shattered in a single punch. He coughed out blood as he fell to his knees while his mask fell off as he landed face down in the snow.

Naruto ended his Bijuu cloak as he looked down upon the man with his head buried in the snow. He slowly rolled the man over with his foot before stopping. "Asahi! Why would you do this?" Naruto asked in stunned disappointment.

Asahi looked up at Naruto no malice or anger in his eyes. "Because I wanted to know the truth. Why you really left your home. There were so many inconsistencies, how could the son of Minato Namikaze, and a young man trained by both Copy Cat Kakashi and Jiraiya of the Sannin possibly still be a genin. Now I know you're a Jinchuuriki. Can you ever forgive me? I had to indulge my curiosity, forgive this old man." he said knowing that most ninja were not forgiving at all.

"I shouldn't you know. I could get caught because of this." Naruto replied.

"I'll take the fall, this was my fault, take the girl and run. It will take Iwa several days to send a team out this far to investigate. Go take Karin and make sure you are far from here by the time they come. I'll make sure they never get a sign of your trail, it's the least I can do." Asahi said sadly.

Naruto simply nodded and turned back to where Karin still sat in the snow a look of awe on her face. "We need to go, I'm sorry we can't wait around for another few days." Naruto said. Karin nodded but her body was being difficult. "Can you stand?" he asked.

"I don't know I think my body is in shock, it's not responding properly." She replied fearfully, she didn't want to be left behind. Her fears were unfounded however as Naruto lightly scooped her up from the ground and cradled her safely as he rushed off back in the direction of their room to collect the supplies they would need if they wanted to survive. Karin relaxed in his arms, she closed her eyes and felt his chakra surrounding her. '_This is nice. I could get used to this._' she thought before she suddenly went very tense. '_Oh no, please don't tell me...I'm starting to have feelings for Naruto_.'

**End Chapter!**

**Been awhile since there has been any action in this Fic so thought it needed a scene to kick things moving again. Anyway hope you liked the chapter. Until Next Time, Bye.**


	9. Heading North

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 9: Heading North**

Naruto held Karin in a bridal style as he kicked open the door to their hotel room. His eyes quickly scanned the room as if he expected to be ambushed at any moment. Once satisfied that the room was empty he crossed the room and gently placed Karin on the couch. "How are you feeling, you're a little red in the face?" he asked concern visible on his face.

"Ye-yeah I'm fine." Karin answered quietly. As dense as ever Naruto once more failed to see that she was blushing.

"Okay sit tight I'm going to go grab our stuff, then we need to move, the longer we wait the more chance it will be that someone finds us." Naruto said before taking off around the small hotel apartment and collecting all the essentials that they would need for the journey.

Karin sat on the couch her mind racing, the events since she woke that morning were running through her mind. From waking up to Naruto's peak of energy it struck her that when she thought about it she was just in her bedroom less than half an hour ago sleeping and now she was back about to flee from the village. The main scene that played through her mind over and over again was Naruto appearing in front of her preventing the kunai thrown by Asahi from ending her life. The power radiating off Naruto made her knees weak, it was awe inspiring. She had felt weak kneed once before in Sasuke's presence but it was out of fear. Naruto had far surpassed Sasuke, but despite having all that power it wasn't frightening at all, rather comforting.

Karin's heart began to beat faster as she thought about the blond. 'No I can't accept this, I don't like him, I just need him to survive.' she told herself. The problem was no matter how many times she told herself this deep down she knew it was a lie.

Naruto returned around a minute later a large backpack strung across his back the pack seemed almost as large as the teen himself. He approached and bent down to pick her up again and once more her face turned a shade of red almost as deep as her hair. "Wait, I can walk now, it was just your chakra got to me before I'm fine now." she said urgently.

"Oh okay, well then we better go. I placed your clothes in the bag so you don't need to worry about that." Naruto said with his warm smile in place despite the seriousness in the tone of his voice.

Karin nodded and jumped to her feet, she let out a small sigh of relief when she found that her legs would support her again, she didn't know if she could handle the embarrassment of asking Naruto to carry her again.

They were staying on one of the upper floors of the hotel and briskly made their way down the flights of stairs until they were once again in the luxurious entrance hall. As if sensing the reason the two shinobi were there, the same man that greeted them on their arrival quickly approached. "Are you leaving us?" he asked in a calm voice with the same slightly creepy smile he wore when they first met the man.

"Yeah, it's time for us to move on." Naruto replied as calmly as he could manage while in a hurry. He knew that it would be several days before Iwa could hope to arrive to investigate the burst of chakra, however he wanted to be well out of their reach by then. In fact he wanted to be sure there was no trace that he was there at all.

After paying the man for their time at the hotel Naruto and Karin soon found themselves leaving the hotel and briskly walking through the streets just fast enough to not draw any attention to themselves should any questions be asked. Not knowing the layout of the village they decided to double back and head north by heading around the large mountain that Iwame was carved into. Outside of the cave it had clearly been snowing. Several of the buildings had a thick coating of snow covered most of the buildings. The sky was still filled with thick clouds that obscured the sun from view that along with the tall mountans gave the impression that it was dusk rather than mid morning.

"Wow there must have been quite a lot of snow while we were in the main area of the village." Naruto spoke in awe. Two days ago they had entered and the building were bone dry, but now you could no longer see the thick reenforced stone structures.

"Yeah, but judging from what we have heard about this place the weather can change at any moment, that's why going north into the wilderness into the Insurmountable Peaks is considered so dangerous." Karin replied her thirst for knowledge had meant that she absorbed all the information that Asahi had given her and more. Whilst Naruto was given the same lectures the words of their former companion simply went over his head. Once more showing that anything not combat related was a real spot for the blond Uzumaki.

What was endeering about the somewhat dimwitted shinobi was his immovable desire and belif that he could do anything. "I hope you're not having second thoughts, we're approaching the point of no return and I would hate for you to resent me for dragging you along." he said a boyish smile gracing his features.

Karin was once more tempted to take off, Naruto's plan was after all suicide. Not for the first time she was instantly hit with fear of being alone, this fear seemed to shake her from any self preservative thoughts. Shaking her head violently she turned to face her companion. "You're not getting rid of me that easily."

"Who says that I wanted you to go. Having you around is at least someone else to talk to." Naruto replied his smile not leaving his face.

'**What is wrong with you! Are you not in the slightest bit annoyed with her that she has potentially given away our position. I know you are a kind person Naruto but kindness can only go so far before it becomes idiocy.**' Kurama lectured with harshness licking off of every word. Naruto hadn't heard his companion talk to him like that since before the fight with Obito.

'_I am annoyed Kurama, but not at her. If I took Asahi seriously from the start Karin wouldn't have been involved. I didn't need to draw on your chakra to win that fight, but because of my desire to find out why I was being attacked, rather than just dealing with the issue she was used against me. I am at fault here not Karin._' Naruto replied honestly.

'**Well I must say that I am impressed, I almost thought you were too stubborn to realize when you were wrong, I guess miracles do happen.**' Kurama mocked. Despite the tone of the Kyuubi's voice he was really quite proud of Naruto. It was one thing to blame others for a situation, but it was another thing entirely to admit your own faults.

'Well I guess I'm still growing, I must be doing something right if I can surprise a two thousand year old fox.' Naruto taunted back.

'**I didn't say I was surprised fool, I said impressed although now I am less impressed it must have just been a fluke.**' Kurama laughed.

Naruto face vaulted in embarrassment which almost caused him to trip over himself as he walked. "You may want to watch were you're going. If you can't stay on your feet in the middle of a paved street how do you plan on surviving all the mountains we need to negotiate?" Karins asked in a small laugh.

'_Oh great now I have both of you on my back. What did I do to deserve this?.. wait never mind, I don't think I want to know what you have to say_.' Naruto thought, prematurely cutting Kurama off from his retort. "Ah sorry about that, I was sort of distracted thinking about everything that has happened so far." He finally spoke ignoring the fox laughing at him inside his head.

"Oh. Sorry I guess I really screwed up huh, we could have stayed in the village for a few more days and left in less of a hurry, now because of me we are forced to flee." Karin admitted slightly sadly.

"It's not your fault Karin, you did nothing wrong. You probably just froze up when Asahi attacked because you could tell who was behind the mask." Naruto replied in a comforting tone.

A small blush threatened to cross Karin's face bus she suppressed it as best she could. '_Dammit, why is he able to say things that get me flustered so easily. I will not fall for him, I refuse to! I won't be hurt again like I was with Sasuke._' she thought with all the determination she could muster.

Karin was broken from her thoughts as the pair of runaway shinobi arrived at the village gates. "This could be a problem." Naruto whispered slightly before coming to a halt pretending to take great interest in one of the larger buildings in the area.

"Why?" Karin asked clearly confused by Naruto's sudden attitude.

"Think about it, if Iwa shinobi come to investigate the large chakra burst, then they are going to check the list of people who left the village shortly afterwords. They will recognize our pictures even from the fake passports almost immediately, and if they don't when they send the records to Iwa someone there will. The old man Tsuchikage may not have survived but plenty of Iwa shinobi were on the front lines where I fought in the war." Naruto explained.

The gravity of the situation finally hit the kunoichi who could only nod darkly. "I'm in no better of a position, the last known surviving member of the Akatsuki. I'm the number one most wanted shinobi in all of the five great nations." Karin admitted slightly fearfully.

"So in other words we just need to find another way to leave the village then. It would be too obvious to just go over the wall, someone would see for sure." Naruto answered a small mischievous grin crossing his face.

"What are you thinking?" Karin asked rather apprehensively. She had seen smiles similar to that many times and they vary rarely meant something productive.

"Oh I was just thinking that it's been quite awhile since I have played a decent prank on anyone. Let's see how these guards fare against the boy who once terrorized the entire Konoha population." Naruto replied.

'_I knew it_.' Karin sighed but decided to wait and see where this went.

Naruto sat down in a thinking pose in silence for a few seconds. "There are two guards so a single disturbance won't do. I'll need to divide them leading them both away which means I need to create a situation where guarding the gate becomes secondary in importance while dividing their attention." Naruto mused.

Karin couldn't help but be somewhat impressed with Naruto's tactical mind, he came up with a plan surprisingly quickly, not as quickly or as well thought out as a certain Nara could, but fast none the less.

Finally Naruto returned to his feet and created four clones that quickly transformed into different children that wore civilian clothes. He then reached into his bag and removed one of the black sweater tops that he had brought the previous day. In one swift movement he tore the shirt down the middle to create a single large piece of black fabric. "You know what to do?" Naruto asked to which the kids nodded before dispersing.

"So now what?" Karin asked curiously. She was interested in seeing how Naruto dealt with this type of situation. In the past Orochimaru or Sasuke would simply kill the men for getting in their way. By now she knew better than to place Naruto on their level.

Karin watched with interest as two of Naruto's clones created a large slingshot out of Naruto's discarded shirt and started collecting snow. "You think snowballs are going to force both guards to forget about their post?" she asked skeptically.

"Just watch." Naruto answered with a confident smirk.

Much like Karin predicted snowballs began descending on the two gate guards with deadly accuracy. The 'kids' responsible made no effort to hide themselves. "Hey brats get out of here!" one of them yelled attempting to swat away an incoming snowball only to be hit directly in the head. Much to the guards annoyance the only response he received was uproarious laughter and another barrage of snow. "That's it!" the guard said stepping out of his booth in an attempt to intimidate the children.

Little did he know this was exactly what Naruto was waiting for. In the blink of an eye the other two children appeared and before the guard to respond they had taken his keys.

"What the Fuck!" the guard yelled quite obviously outraged by the turn of events. "Hey kid give those back, I hope you know that it's a serious crime stealing the gate keys." he said reaching for a sword he kept on the other side of his belt only to find that too was missing.

"I don't think you're very good at your job, I mean having your weapon and keys stolen by a couple of kids what ever would your superiors think." one of the Henged Naruto clones taunted.

"Hey Honwa, how about a little help here?" the guard asked his partner.

Quite obviously the other gate guard was not pleased in the slightest, at his partner or the children that had made them look like a couple of fools. He wasted little time drawing his weapon and exiting the guards booth. "Alright kids playtime is over, now give my partner his equipment back and nobody needs to get hurt."

His answer was a snowball right to the face. Giving the clones enough time to skillfully remove the mans keys from his belt. "Looks like you both have lot your keys." a clone laughed happily in a fake sweet childs voice.

"Kid give those back this instant or we will be forced to take them by force!" the guard said rounding on the child who had taken his keys.

"Looks like you're going to have to come and get them then." the child said before taking off in the opposite direction. As if on cue the boy who had the other guards weapon and keys dropped the sword and took off as well making sure to split up from his so called partner.

The remaining guard was now left in two minds he couldn't leave his post unattended, but then again a gate guard loosing the keys to the city was not something that went down well. '_It's risk getting fired or definitely getting fired then_.' he decided before reluctantly leaving his post to chase after the boy.

From their hiding place Naruto appeared holding his sides laughing. Karin followed soon after shaking her head slightly "I can't believe that worked." she said with a slightly stunned grin.

"Nah that type of stuff was my way of life before I became a ninja. Besides they were both civilians, guards maybe but they were certainly no shinobi." Naruto chuckled as he casually walked towards the gate pushing it ever so slightly open so they could slip out undetected.

"So where to now?" Karin questioned once they were outside the village, the gate doors closing silently behind them.

"We head north, I guess we should follow the road while we can, then we head up into the mountains." Naruto announced taking the road that circled the mountain around the village of Iwame that bent higher up into the mountains.

Karin sighed and just followed after the blond, what did she expect, Naruto had no more of an idea on what to expect then she did. This was territory completely unknown to them, even Iwa had abandoned their outposts further north of Iwame years ago. 'Looks like this is the last time I'll see civilization.' she let out an audible sigh as more thoughts and questions ran through her head. 'What will we eat? Where will we sleep? Naruto seems so calm and confident, how can he be so sure of himself?" all these thoughts and more raced through the kunoichi's mind as she followed after Naruto who was slowly picking up the pace to that of a genin as they moved out of sight of the village.

(**Konoha**)

Kakashi was not having a good day, literally hundreds of requests had come in to attend Naruto's official funeral. Not many of the people that Naruto had helped during his career as a shinobi were too pleased with his decision to charge for seats. Some like Tazuna and Inari were able to sympathize with Kakashi's plight having seen Konoha after Pein's attack whilst helping with the reconstruction of the village. For this reason they agreed to take the admission price off their bill. While the self proclaimed super builder was easily mitigated the same could not be said for many others. Koyuki Kazahana, the Daimyo of the Land of Spring was furious. Naruto had not only saved her but also her entire nation and now she was being told that she had to pay Ryo to show her respects and say farewell to the boy that she owed so much.

The fact that it soon became common knowledge that groups from the five great nations were given seats free of charge made things worse for the Copy Ninja. The priestess Shion blatantly refused to pay saying that Naruto would never have allowed something like this to occur and it spat upon his memory to do so. Kakashi couldn't help but somewhat agree with the priestess from the Land of Demons.

Other nations also voiced their displeasure at Konoha's decision to sell off the tickets to a funeral. Some payed begrudgingly if only to show some respect to the boy who had been so influential to them while others refused stating that they would honor Naruto in their own way.

All in all Kakashi was feeling rather drained when the village elders entered his temporary office. "Ah Kakashi-dono it seems that the preparations are almost complete and the seats are all but sold out." Koharu said with a contented smile.

Kakashi failed to share her optimism. "Perhaps, but we have upset quite a few allies in doing so." he replied with a tired sigh.

"Allies that will forgive us in time Kakashi-dono, but the potential of a major village alliance is the real issue here as well as funding the rebuilding of Konoha." Koharu assured the acting Hokage.

Homura seemed slightly more concerned than Koharu did but did not speak out about his concerns rather he decided to change the topic completely. "Tell me, has there been any news on Tsunade-Hime?" he asked.

Kakashi closed his one exposed eye and sighed once more not a happy topic. "No she is still in a coma. She was out for close to a month when Pein attacks and by all accounts was forced to push her healing abilities further during her fight with Madara, she was only able to save Gara-dono and Mei-dono after all. It could be several weeks before we see any sort of response for her, that is if she pulls through at all." he answered sadly.

"We will postpone the funeral for Naruto until she has awoken of course." Homura said assuredly.

This time it was Koharu who wore a slight scowl but unlike her former teammate she had no problem in voicing her displeasure. "That is unwise, the sooner we act on this the better. At the moment the boy is a major bargaining tool but the longer we wait the less influential his name will become. We cannot postpone something of such importance for anyone even Tsunade-Hime."

"That may be but lets also remember just how important Naruto was to Tsunade-sama. If she finds out we held a funeral for Naruto and she wasn't even in a state to attend I fear for our safety." Kakashi admitted honestly.

"It also shows great disrespect to Tsunade-Hime, she thought of the boy quite highly, almost like family." Homura added.

"Very well but do not wait for too long Kakashi-dono, political leverage comes and goes do not forget that." Koharu warned.

"That may be, but Naruto has always had the ability to leave a lasting impression on people." the Copy Ninja replied.

"I will leave the decision to you of course I just hope you are capable of making tough decisions when called upon." Koharu answered before turning to leave, Homura following in her wake.

'_I'm starting to see why Tsunade-sama disliked dealing with the elders. At least I don't have Danzo to compete with._' Kakashi thought once the two older shinobi had left.

(Land of Earth)

Several Hours had passed since Naruto and Karin had left Iwame. They had been following a winding road that went north, the last road available for travelers. After about and hour the once wide and accessible road had descended into little more than a narrow path that ofter had steep clifs on either side. By now the path was in such a state that Naruto guessed you would either need to be a trained ninja or have safety gear to navigate it safely.

Even with their shinobi training every so often a rock would slide under their feet almost causing one of them to lose their footing. "You know I'm starting to think it might be safer off the path." Naruto joked after a particularly large chunk of earth collapsed down into a deep crevasse to the side of the path not held against the side of the mountain.

"I'm thinking you might be right, even using chakra to stick to the ground this is dangerous. Still if Iwa have any buildings still standing that we could use for shelter they will be along this path, so we should use them as long as we can." Karin replied.

The sky was darkening, both from the now setting sun and the increasing thickness of the clouds that had steadily became more threatening as the day wore on. Looking up Naruto couldn't help but agree that it would be nice to have proper shelter for at least one more night. "Well if we don't want to get caught up in that storm I suggest we get a move on, hopefully we can find an old abandoned outpost to take shelter before nightfall." Naruto added in agreement.

The pair began growing increasingly desperate around an hour later, there had so far been no sign of any buildings, abandoned, ruined or otherwise. To make things worse a few specks of snow began o fall from the sky as the dark clouds closed in. "This is bad, the next area that's somewhat flat we should set up camp." Naruto suggested.

"Do you have a tent?" Karin asked. The question had been playing in her mind for quite some time now but this was the first time that she had decided to voice her concern.

"Yeah I picked up a large thermal tent that has two separate rooms, and several chakra powered heaters this morning before I ran into Asahi." Naruto replied.

"Seperate rooms? I haven't seen a tent like that before, although I'm only used to sigle standard shinobi tents." the kunoichi admitted.

"Yeah well I figured that you would probably want your space, especially while we were sleeping." Naruto said a tiny blush crossing his face.

Karin noticed this and couldn't help but tease the poor boy. "Whats this? don't tell me you are embarrassed about sleeping in the same room? We spent several days traveling together sleeping in the back of Asahi's caravan." Naruto blushed slightly more and began mumbling beneath his breath. "Sorry what was that?" she teased.

"We, ugh we weren't alone then." Naruto whispered quietly, but loud enough for the kunoichi to hear him. Then the reality of it struck Karin, they were all alone. Nobody around for close to a hundred miles. There was nothing, only them.

Now it was her turn to blush picking up on what Naruto may have been thinking that caused him to blush. '_He's been thinking about me._' she mused finding the thought somewhat pleasing before quickly scolding herself once more the last thing she wanted was to have romantic feelings towards anyone least of all someone who was so closely connected to Sasuke.

This was somewhat true, Karin had often been the topic of discussion between Naruto and Kurama. The blond was also quite relieved to discover that he could keep some of his thoughts away from his inner companion. It was never anything overly important, he would trust Kurama with most things, he was however a sixteen year old boy who couldn't help but have several indecent thoughts, that the large fox would discourage certainly considering that he disliked their red headed companion.

"Thanks I guess. You really thought this out didn't you?" Karin replied eventually.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Uh not really, I'm just making it up as I go if I'm being honest." Naruto spoke somewhat reluctantly. Why he was somewhat ashamed to admit he had no plan he couldn't say, he had rarely gone into any conflict with a clear plan so why was it that this time he was almost embarrassed to admit his lack of a clear plan. '_I guess after all I have been through I'm starting to realize that running into things head first is not always the best idea._' he contemplated.

'**Maybe, but everything that way hasn't ended out all bad has it? Granted you make a fair amount of mistakes, but in the end you always came out on top.**' Kurama assured the runaway Konoha ninja.

Naruto was about to respond to the large fox when he was distracted by Karin. "Look over there!" she yelled pointing to a point around two hundred yards ahead of them.

Naruto squinted to see through the snow that was now steadily falling from the sky. It took a few moments for his eyes to become accustomed to the poor visibility. Then he saw it, a small stone building protruding from the side of the mountain, looking as though it was carved out of the earth itself. "Let's go, we can save camping for another night. Plus there might be information on where the other outposts are, maybe even a detailed map of the area." Naruto said happily.

The two teens moved faster than they had all day, whether that was because they were relieved to find shelter and the weariness of the days travel had been forgotten, or that the snow was coming down faster and faster neither could say.

The old Iwa outpost built into the mountainside was far larger than it had appeared from a distance, Naruto could already see that from the moment they arrived at the front door that like the rest of the building was made of stone. It also surprised him that the stone was warm to touch. "Wow it's not even remotely cold." he exclaimed voicing his surprise.

"I don't care, let's just get inside already, it's freezing out here!" Karin chorused before pushing past Naruto and sliding the door open.

Unsurprisingly the room was pitch black, only the fading light from the open door illuminated a large room. Naruto quickly withdrew a small lamp that ran off chakra before closing the door behind him.

The light from Naruto's lamp filled the room. Depsite the fact that it had quite obviously not been used in many years the building was not in a bad shape at all. The stones seemed to radiate warmth that allowed both teens to remove their jackets. There was a large table in the center of the room with only two chairs and several candles sat on the table. Naruto wasted no time lighting them to add extra light to the room which helped visibility immensely. They could now see that on the back wall was a large detailed map of the Land of Earth, several points were marked that peeked Naruto's interest but decided that he would come back once they had finished exploring the area. Either side of the map were doors and lead to bedrooms each with nothing but a small single bed and a small bedside table holding a lantern and a few candles.

"Well it's not much but it is more comfortable than a tent in the middle of a snow storm." Naruto sighed once he finished lighting the lamp and candles in Karin's room.

"Yeah, but I would hate to be positioned out here for months at a time." Karin replied shuddering at the thought.

"That's true. I would be so bored, but at least I could train properly." Naruto chuckled.

"There would be nothing to do but train and sleep." Karin answered with a small laugh of her own. "We haven't found the kitchen yet, with any luck they might have a stove that works so we can eat, I take it you did remember to bring food?"

"What do you take me for an idiot?" Naruto asked taking out a larfe scroll that had a large supply of long life food sealed inside.

"Well Sasuke did call you Dobe, you don't get a nickname like that by being smart." Karin joked.

Naruto face vaulted grumbling about 'Stupid Teme's ' as he opened another door and went off in search of a kitchen.

**End Chapter!**

**Ah holidays are good. Not half way through my holiday yet, but I managed to get this chapter out writing for about half an hour before I go to sleep each night. Wanted to keep the story moving and the last chapter stopped at a rather annoying place. At any rate I hope you liked the chapter and feel free to complain about anything, I can take it. **

**This chapter might have had a few more mistakes than others as it was not written in many small sessions rather than two or three, so I apologize if it's not up to standard.**


	10. The Insurmountable Peaks pt 1

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 10: The Insurmountable Peaks Pt 1**

Snow fell heavily outside, freezing cold air was entering the small shack through the door that Naruto and Karin had left open by just a crack. While they both knew it would be much warmer if they had completely shut the door. there was a risk that they would be snowed in, and they didn't want to get trapped inside. While Naruto got to work starting a fire in a small pot belly wood burning stove, Karin left the room to explore the other areas shack they had ignored upon their arrival.

Once Naruto finished lighting the fire he quickly set about preparing a meal. Nothing fancy, just a some rice and a quick one pot curry made with some of the fresh ingredients that wouldn't last the trip. If he was honest with himself he wanted ramen, but he also knew that he now had a finite supply and if he caved in and had ramen every time he felt like it they wouldn't last.

Surprisingly the food was almost cooked when Karin returned with torch in hand. "This place is much larger than I first thought." she said in awe.

"Find anything interesting?" Naruto asked hopefully while stirring the curry.

Karin shrugged and took a seat at the table. "Yes and no. There are a lot of rooms that seem to have no purpose, they are not even large enough to be bedrooms, and they are filled with nothing." she sighed while folding her arms on the table and resting her head.

"Hm sounds like it may have been the armory. It's unlikely that they would have left the weapons behind when they left." Naruto guessed casually giving the curry a final stir before making sure the rice was cooked. He produced two plates from his traveling pack and began dishing up. "Here you go. It's not much but I'm guessing it's better than nothing." he said passing her a plate along with some cutlery as well as chopsticks not knowing which she preferred.

Karin eyed the dish apprehensively. It was not that she didn't trust Naruto not to poison her, he was not Orochimaru or Kabuto. It was more that she doubted his cooking ability, she was half tempted to decline and make herself something. She had always been the one to cook for Sasuke and their group so she was quite confident that she was a good cook despite never getting a compliment. '_It would be rude of me not to at least try some._' She decided eventually, and gingerly took a bite. Much to her surprise it tasted delicious. "Wow Naruto this is amazing." she complimented, happily taking another mouthful.

Naruto smiled and began digging into his own plate. "Yeah Ero-sennin used to make it for us when we were forced to camp out during my training. I like ramen but this is still one of my favorites." he said joyfully in between bites.

"I have to say, I didn't expect you to be much of a cook." Karin admitted.

"Yeah I get that, I lived alone since I was five, so I was forced to cook for myself. Most of the time I went to Ichiraku ramen, but that was mostly because they were the only people at the time that treated me kindly, well other than Iruka-sensei and Jiji." Naruto said a shadow of the old pain he felt crossing his face.

Karin's eyes widened slightly. 'I_ had no idea he had it so bad as a kid. He's been through so much yet he hasn't let himself be brought down, he could so easily hate everyone for what they have done to him yet he remains so happy and confident. How does he do it?_' she questioned herself in awe.

"Yeah that's why when Sasuke's family was killed, I was kind of happy. Not because they were dead or anything, but because I saw someone I thought was like me, all alone." Naruto said sadly, he still hadn't forgiven himself for surviving where Sasuke had not. "Too bad he was such a Teme." he chuckled weakly.

Karin was confused now. '_I don't get it at all, is he still upset at Sasuke's death? Even after everything Sasuke put him through?_' "Sasuke tried so hard to kill you, he did such horrible things yet you seem sad, why?" she asked, unable to contain her curiosity.

"Yes he did, but I always felt like Sasuke was the first person to ever understand me. He was my first real friend and almost like a brother to me. His life would have been different if it wasn't for Itachi telling him that he needed to get revenge. Still I think Itachi realized his mistake in the end. He wanted to motivate Sasuke to become strong but gave him the wrong message. Maybe that really is just the way that the Uchiha clan thought, that revenge was always necessary. Madara certainly thought that way, and so did Obito." Naruto answered. He held no hostility towards Itachi, in fact as far as Naruto was concerned Itachi was somewhat of a hero. His mistakes with Sasuke just went to prove that even the best of people can make mistakes.

"Who's Obito?" Karin asked slightly confused.

"He was the masked Akatsuki ninja, a former Konoha ninja that was in Kakashi-sensei's genin team. He wanted to put the world in an eternal genjutsu with his sharingan so he could control everyone for the rest of his life." Naruto answered.

Karin nodded then a puzzled look spread across her face. Um if we were all placed in a ocular genjutsu wouldn't everyone just die of starvation after about a week? And even if they didn't there would be no next generation so the world would come to an end one way or another." Karin theorized.

"Yeah, I don't know how well he thought the idea through." Naruto shrugged, he hadn't really thought about the 'Moons Eye' plan in much detail but now he had to admit Karin had a point, he had experienced Itachi's genjutsu and knew he couldn't move when trapped inside, the entire world was Itachi's play thing. Which was the exact purpose of Madara's so called final solution.

"That really doesn't make any sense, why go though all that trouble anyway?" the red haired kunoichi asked still puzzled.

"He lost someone. He loved her, but from what I heard she didn't think much of him." Naruto answered. Upon saying it out loud he couldn't help but think that the situation reminded him a little too much of himself and Sakura, and of Jiraiya and Tsunade. The difference was that Rin died, still he could never imagine seeing his mentor ever being bitter at the world. As for himself, well if you can survive the pain of being a jinchuuriki, then you can deal with anything.

The pair continued to talk over their meal, despite having been traveling with each other for quite some time now they continued to learn more about each other. Despite being one of Orochimaru's subordinates Naruto found her work rather interesting, even if he didn't understand most of it. He always listened with rapt attention, not wanting to miss out on anything. Karin for her part found Naruto's stories similarly riveting, after awhile she began to wonder if Naruto ever had any missions where he didn't run into some form of top class shinobi. She had heard of the first encounter with Zabuza from Sasuke but Naruto's version was more believable. Sasuke made it seem like he had defeated his opponent with ease while Naruto openly admitted they were both well and truly outclassed and only survived out of dumb luck and resilience.

Karin was also the perfect audience, always laughing at the right times and gasping when something shocking was having. Naruto was having a ball, he hadn't had so much fun in a long time, certainly not since Pein had attacked Konoha, after that it had been constant training and fighting. The realization was just now hitting him that he was finally free, he could find a nice place to live out the remainder of his years in peace, at least he hoped. That said he had to admit he would miss some of the adventures he had. Although had he stayed in Konoha there was a chance that he would have been made the next Hokage which would his time of going on missions anyway.

They were so engrossed in their conversation that their food slowly went cold thanks to the freezing wind still leaking into the cabin that was only made bareable thanks to the fire. Still they didn't mind so much the overall flavor of the meal made it bearable even when cold. Once they had finally finished their meal Naruto sighed and slowly began to stand. "We should go take a look at that map, it will make the next few days easier for us if we can find out the locations of all the northern lying outposts. A few more nights like this would be nice." Naruto admitted.

Karin nodded, for her part she could never recall having so much fun, certainly not at any point after joining Orochimaru's service. So she was quite disappointed to be forced to get back to work. '_I still can't figure Naruto out, he's seen so much pain and hardship, yet he's remained so happy. Really he's like a child,but he certainly has a serious side to himself as well. If I am honest with myself this is what I hoped Sasuke would have been like if he relaxed a little more. Although maybe not so much of an idiot as the Naruto in some of his stories._' She giggled at the last thought.

Naruto noticed this and raised an eyebrow in confusion. "Uh what's so funny? Did I sit on something?" he asked frantically attempting to see if there was any mark on the back of his trousers.

Karin broke out in a fit of laughter at Naruto's antics. "No it's nothing like that. I was just thinking about something funny that's all." she chuckled.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh so what was so funny?" he asked.

"That would be my secret." she teased before walking past the lightly disappointed blond with a smirk. "Now come on, you wanted to check out this map didn't you?"

Naruto nodded and followed after the kunoichi. '_Ah man why do I get the feeling that she is laughing at me?_' Naruto thought self consciously.

'**Maybe because you are still and Idiot. Regardless it does not matter what that woman thinks, you should not engage her. She's proven herself to be incompetent yet you still keep her around.**' Kurama growled in annoyance inside his head.

'_Ah come on Kurama, Karin isn't that bad, it's quite nice having her around._' Naruto reasoned.

Kurama let out a feral growl that only the Kyuubi could, filled with malice and anger. '**Despite what you may think Naruto, I hold no love for your friends, or mankind in general for that matter. I am loyal to you and you alone, my only goal is to keep you safe. While that... woman is around you are far from being safe. So do not do anything so foolish as to gain an emotional attachment to her.**' the fox warned angrily.

Naruto sighed and slowly nodded. '_Don't worry Kurana, I have no desire to become attached to Karin, once we are over these mountains I am sure we will go our separate ways._'

Kurama couldn't tell for sure but he thought he heard a hint of sadness in his jinchuuriki words, since Naruto had mastered his emotions to take control of his powers reading the blonds mood had become harder. **'I hope you are right Naruto, but remember that you are not the only one that can become attached**.' the Kyuubi spoke. Kurama had improved a lot but his natural distrust of humanity would not be worn out over a few months. As far as the giant fox was concerned Naruto was the one human worthy of his respect and protection.

Naruto didn't answer the fox this time as Karin had removed the map from the wall and placed it over a square table that fit the size of the map perfectly. The only indicator to what he was thinking was a slight smile forcing it's way upon the edge of his lips. "This is a really complex map, there are lots of signs I don't even recognize." Karin admitted looking over the ragged piece of paper.

Naruto scratched his head, also confused about what many of the odd signs may mean. "Looks like it's written with a code that Iwa shinobi use." he guessed taking a seat and started poking the map, as if expecting something to change and make it easier to read by touching it.

Karin was almost surprised, as far as academics went she knew Naruto was not exactly the top student, but he deduced that perfectly. Different villages would use special codes on their maps to conceal areas of importance to the individual villages. "I can probably work a basic key if you have another map with at least some of this area." she said after studying the symbols slightly closer. She did have some experience with breaking codes while working with Orochimaru, it was not her strongest area but she was confident she could at least decipher enough of the map to make it useful. "The more detailed the better." she added as an after thought while Naruto began searching his traveling pack for a map.

"Here you go. As unfortunate as having to leave Iwame was I at least got all the equipment we will need before I was attacked." the blond sighed handing Karin folded map. "It doesn't cover the same area and it's not shinobi quality but it's the best I could find." he admitted.

Karin inspected the two maps for a few moments slowly tracing the path that the pair had taken from Iwame on the map Naruto supplied. "Hmm" she hummed with slight intrigue.

"What is it?" Naruto asked. He was hoping that Karin had made a breakthrough.

"I should be able to work with this, there have been some changes in the landscape judging on the two maps. I guess it is to be expected in a part of the world where landslides are an almost daily occurrence. It could take a while but I should be able to decipher at least the locations of Iwa's hideouts up in the mountains." Karin answered.

"Alright, do you need anything? I may not be good at smart things like deciphering maps but I can do other things. I brought some tea when I was out buying equipment, I'm not that big of a fan but I thought you might like it. I can make you some if you want." Naruto said. He didn't like that he was still basically useless at the none physical side of being a ninja. Sure he may be one of the strongest people currently alive, but things like codes and passwords still made him feel like the dead last in the academy.

"Um that would be nice, thanks." Karin agreed. She was once more left bewildered by Naruto. '_He doesn't even like tea much, but he brought some just in case I liked it. How can anyone be that nice? Or is it just because I am so used to being around the wrong type of people? Gah damn you Naruto, how can their be such a big difference between you and everyone else I have met. Well that's not true, some of those guards of my cell in Konoha were quite kind considering I was a prisoner._' Karin was so lost in her internal conflict she had completely spaced out when Naruto returned. "Gah I gotta stop thinking about him." she said suddenly shaking herself awake.

"Uh, thinking about who?" Naruto asked while setting down a cup in front of the red headed kunoichi.

Karin first paled, then went as deep a red as her hair. "Um... I was thinking about the man who made this map... Yeah, just thinking about how skilled he was at code." she lied.

While many wouldn't have believed her, and she fully expected to be called out on it. Naruto was still as clueless as ever, his experiences with Hinata had apparently taught him nothing. "Oh. Yeah thinking up codes must be tough. Well unless you're someone like Shikamaru, he would be able to come up with something perfect in a matter of seconds." Naruto said with his standard foxy grin.

"Sounds like he's really smart." Karin sighed relieved that Naruto had believed her.

"Yeah he's the smartest person I know. The only problem is he's really lazy." Naruto chuckled.

Karin giggled lightly as she returned her attention to the two maps. Silence filled the room as Karin worked, Naruto despite being the impatient type did not want to distract her in the chance that she may make a mistake, that would lead them to become horribly lost.

"I think I've got it! If I am right then we might have a far easier time over the next few days." Karin said, smugly pushing her thin glasses higher up the bridge of her nose.

"Why is that? If it doesn't stop snowing so heavily it doesn't look like we are going to get very far at all." Naruto replied skeptically.

"Iwa have underground passageways that connect all their outposts, or at least most of them. For some reason the paths stop before the outpost that is at the most northern point." Karin replied.

"Wow you're amazing Karin, we could take days, if not weeks off the trip north." Naruto beamed.

"Of course, I was one of the best scientists in all of the Oto bases after all." she said contently.

"So where do you think the entrance to the underground passageway is?" Naruto asked.

"Hm I don't know I would say it's downstairs in the armory. Let's go have a look, the light down there is not so good so two pairs of eyes will be better than one." Karin answered.

Naruto nodded readily and jumped up to his feet. "Alright it's still early, and it will save us some time tomorrow morning."

The staircase that led down to the underground area of the outpost was hidden behind a old false wall, only the decay of time allowed it to be visible, several large holes gave it's position away quite spectacularly. "They went through quite a lot of effort to keep this place hidden. A tiny staircase right up against the edge of the building, if you couldn't see it you would think it was just the outside wall." Naruto marveled.

"Yeah I was hopeful of finding something interesting down here earlier. But I guess Iwa would want to keep their weapons hidden should any invaders ever overrun this place. Not that anyone would ever want too." Karin said taking out a small chakra powered torch.

The stairs were steep, almost straight down. Naruto added chakra to his feet just to be on the safe side, last thing he wanted was to slip and fall knowing Karin was on the stairs below him. One thing Naruto did notice quite pleasantly, was the fact that it was warm down their. Although the comfort that added was small when the area was so dark he couldn't even see his feet, only Karin's torch lit the way. Naruto waited until he made it to the bottom of the stairs before retrieving his own torch. The light instantly illuminated a large room easily as large as the cabin above them although it was completely empty. Some small scuff marks indicated that the room was once filled with furniture of some form. "It's much warmer down here, even without the fire I don't think I need my jacket. They must have used this area more often during the winter to stay warm." Naruto guessed.

"Well the upstairs would be warm as well if we closed the door properly. But I think you are right regardless. The ground is a perfect insulator, regardless of where one of Oto's bases were, anything underground stayed at a pleasant temperature." Karin agreed.

"So any idea's where the entrance to the tunnels may be?" Naruto asked looking around the room with his light. Several doors branched out off either wall but none of them looked like they were large enough to hold a pathway of any sort.

"No idea. Judging by the effort that they went through to hide the staircase down here, I would say it's hidden behind another false wall. Just look for anything that seems out of place." Karin suggested.

"Hm you mean like everything here, this whole place seems odd to me." Naruto said flatly.

"Oh just shut up and get to work." Karin snapped although there was no real malice in her words.

The pair split up each taking separate sides of the underground complex. Every so often Naruto would whine about not being able to see anything different about any of the rooms. '_What about you Kurama? Can you sense anything?_' the blond asked after searching his third room.

'**No I can't sense anything. But that shouldn't matter all that much at all. I would have found the entrance to the passageway by now if I was in your shoes**.' the large fox yawned slightly bored by the current events.

'_How?_' Naruto asked slightly shocked.

'**By doing what you and I do best... By destroying things. Just channel some Senjutsu and knock a hole in each of the walls, the one that gives, or is hollow, is obviously hiding something.**' Kurama answered plainly.

'_You know Kakashi-sensei would call that reckless and over the top._' Naruto chuckled.

'**Well it's a good thing the cyclops isn't here. Now go destroy something.**' Kurama ordered.

'Well I can't argue with your logic.' Naruto replied taking sitting down cross legged in the center of the room and began channeling his senjutsu.

'**You can't argue with anyone's logic, you need to be smart to be able to do that. Of course I am disregarding Uchiha logic, they go about trying to destroy the world ever time they get a small disappointment.**' Kurama laughed.

Naruto deadpanned almost losing his focus in channeling Senjutsu. '_They were not all bad. Surely._' Naruto sighed, he knew that no matter how long he lived Kurama would never see the Uchiha clan in a good light.

Kurama seemed to find Naruto's statement highly amusing and couldn't help but laugh. '**Put it this way Naruto. The only decent, mentally stable Uchiha you met was Itachi. Yet he was the one who killed off his entire clan. What does that say about the clan if the black sheep of their family was one of the biggest hero's in Konoha's history. The only good Uchiha is a dead Uchiha.**' the fox declared.

Naruto just sighed, he had no desire to argue with his companion on this topic, for the most part Kurama had lightened up considerably. But you don't lose hundreds of years of hatred and anger over a few months, even with Naruto as your jinchuuriki.

Karin almost dropped her torch, the room began to be saturated in chakra, and it didn't take a genius to figure out where it was coming from. "What is this!?" she gasped breathlessly. She closed her eyes and once more indulged herself in the warmth that was Naruto's chakra. Only this time it was different, not overwhelming and wild like when he was fighting the former Iwa Anbu, this was gentle yet she could tell extremely powerful. '_Amazing, it looks like the chakra is flowing around him like a protective shell. But there is something that feels so familiar about it._' she thought completely forgetting her task to find the hidden pathway.

Naruto opened his eyes, the light from his torch ouncing against a nearby wall illuminating his barlike pupils and the deep red pigment surrounding his now golden eyes. "Heh looks like I don't need to destroy all the walls after all." Naruto said out loud.

'**What do you mean?**' Kurama questioned somewhat stunned by Naruto's declaration.

'_I can feel the exit. Well to be more precise I can feel the air, flowing from upstairs into the wall. Regardless it was a good idea to use Sage Mode, thanks Kurama._' Naruto answered calmly. Regardless of what was happening Naruto always felt more at peace in Sage Mode, it was just something about being connected with all nature around him and being able to sense even the slightest change in his surroundings.

Naruto slowly rose to his feet dusting himself off, the amount of dirt on the floor after being empty for such a long time was monumental, the only clean part was the area Naruto had been dusting with his ass. As the blond exited the room he found Karin standing there looking apprehensive. "Are... are you alright Naruto?" she asked cautiously.

"I'm fine, I know where the exit is, follow me." Naruto replied walking to an inconspicuous doorway in the far corner of the main room.

The light from Karin's torch flicked across his face as he crossed the room and she almost dropped to the floor. She now knew where she had felt this new chakra before. Juugo, when he went out of control it was the same, yet Naruto's was refined, calm. While Juugo was at times a slave to his power, Naruto was it's master. '_He doesn't have a curse mark, but this concentration is far higher than any curse mark anyway. Hell it's stronger than Juugo when he transformed and he was part of the source for the curse marks._' she thought. Her torch hung limply at her side, still unable to walk.

"Are you coming?" Naruto asked in a joking voice.

The question shook the kunoichi from her daze and she followed after him silently cursing herself for acting like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. She found her resolve when she entered the room however. "How did you get that chakra?" she asked firmly.

"Huh?" Naruto asked clearly puzzled by Karin's accusatory tone.

"You heard me! That chakra, you have saturated your body with it. Nothing good can come of using it. That same chakra drove Juugo to madness." she warned.

"Huh, it's Senjutsu. It can't drive anyone mad... Well maybe if they couldn't balance the levels of Senjutsu, and normal chakra, and they almost turned to stone. It almost happened to me a few times, luckily Fukusaku-sama was there to him me with his cane." Naruto replied, although he winced slightly at the memory of being hit in the head multiple times.

Karin was stunned. "Sen-jut-su... Fuku-sa-ku-sama?" she stammered completely lost with Naruto's explanation. Something that is not easy to do to a scientists, even if they are only sixteen.

"Senjutsu is nature chakra. I convert the energy of nature into my own. It strengthens me considerably. Fukusaku-sama, is one of the great Toad Sages who taught me how to use Senjutsu after Ero-sennin was killed. Trust me Karin, I'm perfectly fine. Now let me show you where the tunnel to the next outpost is." Naruto explained.

Karin nodded understanding the process, she was also incredibly intrigued at the process. "Can anyone learn how to do that?" she asked.

"Well I guess so, but the training needs to take place in specific areas. I think only certain summons have the knowledge and they only teach those that they deem worthy. I was only chosen because Ero-sennin believed in me and the elders had faith in his judgment." Naruto said walking up to the northern wall and placing his ear against it. "This is it." He added confidently.

Karin was a little dejected, she had no summons, nor was it something that she could ask Naruto to teach her. From the sound of it, Senjutsu was a closely guarded secret only given to a select few. She watched in awe as Naruto demolished the fake wall with a single punch revealing a massive tunnel that traveled further than her torchlight would allow. "Amazing." she gaped in awe. She then decided to take this moment to ask another question that had sprung to mind. "When you were fighting with Asahi, you were covered in a chakra shroud, it felt much stronger than you do now, was that a more advanced form of Senjutsu?"

Naruto paused for a moment, he knew she would ask about his fox cloak eventually. He was certainly not ashamed to be the jinchuuriki of Kyuubi, but he didn't know how Karin would react. "That was something else. I'll tell you about it some other time." Naruto said.

'**Why not tell her the truth?**' Kurama asked.

'_I didn't want her to over react. She's basically stuck here with me now, what if she thinks I'm a monster or something. Unlike the people of Konoha I am not a hero to her._' Naruto answered.

'**The chances are she already knows. That woman spent a lot of time with that Uchiha, that constantly tried to kill you. Who you called a friend.**' Kurama scoffed.

'_So?_'

'**So he would have mentioned that you were a jinchuuriki when they were out hunting the Hachibi.**'

Naruto closed his eyes realizing that Kurama was probably right. 'I still don't want to make things difficult between us. I will tell her when we are safely over these mountains and she can go her own way.' he declared.

Since Kurama and Naruto found a common ground and became allies, and friends they had not had many serious disagreements. They would argue but most of the time it was rather lighthearted. But there was tension brewing over Karin. '**I don't like her. She is using you to survive. But it is your life, and I have warned to may times. So this will be the last thing I have to say on the matter. I will not hesitate to kill her should she threaten you. If need be I will warn her myself should she continue to grow... attached to you.**' the fox replied. Kurama may be old and used to being alone, but now he had finally found a friend he would not let harm come to him if he could help it.

Naruto couldn't help but smile. _'I truly hope it doesn't come to that Kurama._' his conversation over Naruto's attention returned to the outside world. "Well looks like we have a nice shortcut through part of the mountains. It's getting pretty late, lets get some sleep so we can make an early start in the morning.

Karin gave a weak smile in agreement. 'I hope I didn't upset him when I asked about his fight with Asahi. Kami I'm such an idiot!' she berated herself as they both ascended the steep stairs, before separating into their separate bedrooms.

**End Chapter!**

**Well another chapter done. Not all that much happened, at the moment I am still focusing on the interaction between Naruto and Karin, establishing their characters. Karin is slightly more difficult as her main character trait is the way she pines after Sasuke while alone but acts distant and aggressive with company. I will have to wait to use that until she has come to terms with having a crush on Naruto, and for other characters to enter their part of the story. **

**Nightfall will be updated Next Week, hopefully before Xmas. **

**Thanks for reading.**


	11. Early Morning Revelations

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 11: Early Morning Revelations**

Once more Karin found herself on the large bridge in the Land of Iron, Danzo had her trapped, using her as a human shield for Sasuke's attacks. "Sorry boy, I can't afford die just yet, I have just been made hokage." Danzo said contently.

"You make it seem like you actually have a chance to escape with your life." Sasuke sneered, his smirk seemed darker than usual.

"If you value the life of your comrade then you will back away." Danzo replied firmly.

Sasuke chuckled darkly. "Comrade huh, tell me, what use is a comrade who get's themselves captured?" Danzo paled slightly. Sasuke's way of thinking was not all that different from how he trained his own men to think. The mission always came first any losses were acceptable as long as the mission was a success. "Karin don't move." Sasuke raised his hand and a spear of electricity shot through her body.

Karin shot up in bed, cold sweat dripping from her forehead. "That dream again. Why can't I just forget? Is that even how it went down?" she asked herself in light sobs. She suddenly had a the feeling that she was all alone. To calm her nerves she spread out her chakra sensory ability to the next room, for what ever reason she craved just to feel the warmth of Naruto's chakra. Quietly she questioned if it was possible for someone's chakra to be addictive, a thought that was soon forgotten as she realized that his room was empty. _'He's not there!_' she panicked, she instantly spread her Minds Eye throughout the cabin, and even the surrounding area. She found the blond downstairs in the underground part of the outpost.

Quickly hopping out of bed Karin wrapped a blanket around her body to escape the cold and exited the room. The sun had not made it's appearance yet but she could tell from the small windows in the cabin that it was not far off, a small pale light crossed the sky indicating the day was upon them. As Karin slowly made her way down the steep stairs she didn't need her sensory ability to feel Naruto's chakra anymore, the air was thick with it. Calm and restrained, yet powerful, like a horse in the gates before a race, just waiting to explode. She felt the effects of his chakra almost immediately, the anxiety she felt was gone, in it's place was a feeling of security, like nothing bad could go wrong while he was around. The feeling was intoxicating. While she was in her tired state the scarlet eyed kunoichi didn't even attempt to shy away from the young jinchuuriki as she slowly approached the room in which his chakra was emanating.

Naruto had woken almost an hour earlier, knowing he wouldn't get any more sleep he decided the best use of his time would be to train with Kurama. He wanted to let his traveling companion sleep as long as she could, he knew that despite the convenience of the underground tunnel system it was still going to be a long day of traveling. His solution was to increase the distance between himself and Karin to avoid waking the sleeping kunoichi, that way he could train without restraint.

The blonds spar was not going well. By his own suggestion Naruto had decided to fight without the use of senjutsu and this was proving to be a rather poor decision to make. Time after time Kurama simply swatted him away, his regular rasengan did little to no damage to the giant fox and despite the numbers advantage gained by his now expert use of shadow clones every exchange ended in the same way. Naruto lay beaten on the ground.

"**You're still one hundred years too early to fight me without Senjutsu. Although I do commend your willingness to try.**" Kurama said catching Naruto with one of his tails as he fell after yet another failed attack.

"Yeah I guess I still have a lot to learn. I wish Kakashi-sensei was here, he would know what I needed to improve on. Granted he would do a half arsed job and spend more time reading his porn than actually training me. But he always knew the best way for me to improve." Naruto sighed.

"Don't look to the past Naruto, those who do that are always filled with regrets. Focus on what you have now, look to the future." Kurama lectured.

"Big words coming from someone who has held a grudge for over a century" Naruto laughed jokingly.

"**Shut it brat, I could kill you right now and take your body**." The giant fox said threateningly.

Naruto wasn't convinced however, they had become close friends and now the blond could always sense the difference between Kurama's fake anger and the full might of rage that the Bijuu could produce. "Aw don't get upset, I was only joking." he replied playing along.

"**I was not upset, I was simply stating fact**." Kurama replied in a far more relaxed tone.

Both parties were startled by a loud and worried yell. "What was that?" Naruto asked while wondering if that came from inside his mindspace. For most people that would be an absurd thought, but Naruto had already had two people show up out of the blue and he had long since denied the possibility that his father may have left him one more surprise for him to find in his own time.

"**It was outside. I swear your brain is becoming slower by the day. Maybe Madara hit you on the head one too many times?**" The large fox scoffed. He had wasted little time in discovering the source of their interruption.

Naruto slowly opened his eyes and came face to face with a shocked and very worried Karin. "Uh, hi." Naruto greeted slowly, he was slightly confused with the look on the kunoichi's face.

Karin opened her mouth to speak but the words seemed to be lost in the back of her throat. All that came out was audible gibberish.

"Karin are you alright?" Naruto asked now slightly concerned for the state of his travel companion.

"Am I alright? What about you!?" Karin yelled finally finding her voice.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You're all cut up and bleeding, what happened to you?" Karin said tossing the blond a small pocket mirror so he could see the state of his face.

Naruto was still puzzled as he picked up the mirror but he soon understood. His face was bleeding from several areas, in fact it was a miracle that he was even able to see. "Whoa how did this happen!?" he yelled in disbelief.

Karin looked at the clueless jinchuuriki with a sweat drop. "You mean you don't know? Kami it looks like you have been run over by one of Orochimaru's snake summons." she deadpanned.

Naruto scratched his head trying to think how he could have ended up in such a condition. '_Kurama why am I in such bad shape? I haven't moved from this spot since we started training._'

'**It would appear that you are not as indestructible in your mindscape as we predicted. While the damage done is considerably less your physical body is still affected. It is a good thing that we have found this out now, should you have died during our spar your physical body could die. It's a shame, as far as training goes nothing is better than fighting with your life on the line, it is a shame we will not be able to exploit this for our gain.**' The large fox assessed.

Naruto nodded in understanding. Then he realized that Karin was still looking at him expecting some sort of explanation. 'Say, what do I tell Karin?'

'**The truth of course. I see no reason to hide the fact you were training with me.**' Kurama replied simply. '_**With any luck it will scare her off. If she knows Naruto has back up anything she may be planing to do to him will be abandoned.**_' he added to himself.

Naruto began to rub the back of his neck in slight embarrassment as his wounds began to heal. "I guess I hurt myself training with Kurama." he said sheepishly.

"Kurama?" Karin questioned half expecting someone to pop out of nowhere having followed the pair in secret for weeks.

"Kurama, is my Bijuu. The Kyuubi." Naruto said simply.

If this was a simple explanation it didn't show for Karin who gawked while looking completely lost. What do you mean the Kyuubi? You train with a Bijuu!?" she stammered slowly.

"Yeah, he's not a bad guy, or should I say fox. He can be grumpy though, and if you even think the word Uchiha he destroys something. That might just be me though as our minds are linked." Naruto mused.

"Are you serious? Why are you so calm about having contact with your Bijuu. Jinchuuriki are supposed to keep their Bijuu inside not become friends with it." Karin exclaimed flatly.

"Why not? If people took the time to try and understand the Bijuu then maybe they wouldn't have such a bad attitude towards humans. Kurama is a friend, no different that anyone else... Well apart from the fact he lives in my mind and when released is the size of a small mountain." Naruto replied.

"You mean you're really friends with the Kyuubi, the strongest Bijuu?" Karin asked skeptically.

"Yeah. I can't say we have always seen eye to eye. But we needed to cooperate during the war, and from that we began to understand each other. He's even started to lighten up a bit." the blond answered as if the topic in question was no weirder than Karin asking the time of day.

The kunoichi took a seat on the ground, it appeared that the conversation had made it to a point where the kunoichi could no longer stand. "I don't belive this. You're talking about the Kyuubi, the strongest of the Bijuu, like it was some delinquent child that was simply misunderstood."

"Well he's certainly not a child, but I would agree that Kurama is misunderstood. If we were further away from Iwa I would let you meet him. But when I use my Fox Cloak the chakra is so strong it can be felt for miles." the jinchuuriki agreed casually.

Karin opened her mouth to ask what his 'Fox Cloak'was, but then an image crossed her mind of Naruto standing over her deflecting a potentially fatal wound, glowing bright gold with what looked like flames licking his torso. "That's what you used to defeat Asahi so quickly." she said calming herself slightly. If Karin was being honest she had been slightly worried that the Kyuubi had been manipulating Naruto into this quest to leave the elemental nations. When she thought of that incident however she was somewhat reassured. His chakra was overwhelming, it suffocated the air, but it was still Naruto in control. 'That darkness, it must have been his Bijuu. Naruto was able to tame and befriend something so dark... Amazing.' she realized. "Alright I think I get it, but you're still hurt. Here bite down on my arm. It will heal you up good as new." she said, quickly exposing her arm, that was still riddled with slowly fading bite marks.

This time it was Naruto's turn to gasp. "Karin what happened to your arms!?" he asked in concerned horror.

"It's alright the bruises don't hurt. Well not anymore." Karin admitted seeing the look on her companions face.

"This is why Sasuke wanted you in his group?" Naruto asked. He had never felt hatred towards Sasuke, sure he had been angered by several things the ill fated Uchiha had done but despite all this he still considered the Uchiha a brother. Seeing Karin's arms bruised in such away however was pushing him close to wishing the Uchiha was still alive just so he could kick his ass again.

"No Sasuke wanted me for my tracking skills, this was just a bonus. Orochimaru however found my ability very useful, most of these marks are still left over from me healing his experiments." Karin answered hesitantly.

"How long do the marks last?" Naruto questioned quietly.

"A few months, these have almost fully faded. But each time I use the technique the other marks darken slightly. It's been almost a year since I had arms without bite marks." she admitted.

"Don't use that anymore. Not unless it's an emergency. See I am perfectly fine now, I heal fast, something about being an Uzumaki plus having Kurama in me makes me heal from minor wounds in a few minutes." Naruto said wiping the blood away from his face to reveal unblemished skin. "I won't need to use that medical ability of yours. Besides you're far too pretty to have such bruises all over your arms." Naruto said without thinking.

Karin paused and blushed slightly. 'Did he just call me pretty?' she asked herself blissfully unaware that her heart had skipped a beat.

Meanwhile in Naruto's mind Kurama was far less pleased about Naruto's compliment. '_**I warned that **__**fool not to get attached to this girl, I can only see this ending badly. Either she dies on the journey and Naruto is upset, she betrays him in some vein attempt to capture me. Or Kami forbid, she ends up as his mate. I can see it now, a bunch of full blooded Uzumaki kits running around inventing new seals to make my life miserable. Well at least Naruto doesn't know how to use any sealing techniques that he can teach them. Actually now that I think about it seems odd that he doesn't. The perverted toad and his parents were all seal masters. Yet not once has anyone given Naruto any information on seals.**_' Kurama thought apprehensively. It was needless to say that Kurama had not warmed up to Karin and she would not be the foxes first choice when it came to Naruto's partner.

Once Karin's blush subsided she slowly found her feet and grabbed Naruto's arm to pull him up. "Well if you don't want me to use my healing jutsu I am going to have to look at your wounds the old fashioned way. There is a first aid kit upstairs." she said while pulling the blond to his feet.

"I've almost healed, that's not really necessary is it?" Naruto asked.

"Probably not but it's better to be safe than sorry. Besides like you said yourself we have a long day ahead of us, last thing we need is you collapsing injured." Karin replied slightly smugly.

"Uh, fine I guess you're right." Naruto admitted and slowly made his way towards the stairs. They moved in silence focusing on the steep steps softly illuminated by their torches. They stayed silent as they entered the living area of the cabin. Karin grabbed the old field medic kit that the Iwa shinobi had left behind. The contents were a lot like any normal first aid kit. However there were some rather advanced looking additions. A chakra scanner that simulated a standard diagnostic jutsu while a second instrument applied an advanced healing salve to heal most minor wounds.

"I guess you should probably lie down on a table. I know enough medical jutsu to not need these instruments but I might used them anyway to be on the safe side." Karin mused.

Naruto paused before nodding. He slowly lay down on the large dining table. "Uh, do I need to take my top off?" Naruto asked reluctantly.

Karin paused a small pink hue spread across her face still she nodded quickly. "Yes, I'll need to check to see if you have any broken ribs." She said in almost a whisper. '_What the hell is wrong with me. I have seen countless people without their shirts on, hell I have dissected a fair number, I cant fall apart because of something so simple._' She lectured herself to regain some composure.

Naruto removed his top slowly and soon came to realize just how cold the room really was, almost immediately he began to feel goosebumps on his skin. He didn't complain however and closed his eyes waiting for the kunoichi to begin her work. He was confident that he was no longer injured at all, still he would humor Karin rather than be stuck in an argument about if he was hurt or not. "You don't seem to be out off or surprised that I have Kurama sealed in me, or that I talk to him, why?"

The question sparked Karin back into reality, whether she had realized it or not she had been in a daze exploring Naruto's bare chest. "Huh? Oh, well I already knew you were a jinchuuriki. Sasuke told me and so did that masked man in the Akatsuki, so I knew for quite awhile. As for you talking to the Kyuubi, well to tell you the truth that was a shock. But I can tell it's still you in control, so I don't mind in the slightest. I have no right to judge you on anything, not with some of the horrible things I have been forced to do in my life. Besides you didn't have a choice in becoming the Kyuubi jinchuuriki so how can anyone think less of you for that?"

Naruto opened his eyes a crack and raised an eyebrow. "You are far more accepting than I would have thought." he admitted.

"Is it really that surprising? Look at the people I have had as team mates and my leaders. Juugo became a blood thirsty monster, Sasuke had an unquenchable thirst for revenge. I don't think I need to go into all the twisted things that Orochimaru would do. When you have spent a life with people like that a small thing like someone being a jinchuuriki isn't really all that overly shocking or disturbing." Karin answered. By now she was tracing the diagnostic equipment over his body very slowly.

Kurama was now very lightly pumping a small amount of chakra through Naruto's body to keep him warm as the intense snow storm that had started the night before was still raging outside making the room almost at freezing point. "I guess if you see some of the worst of humanity there is always less to shock you. Well for once I am glad for that fact. It took me a long time to win over the people of Konoha. So it's nice to know that you have accepted me for who I am." Naruto said honestly.

Karin smiled in response but turned he focus to the medical scan she was performing. The red haired kunoichi was in disbelief that no injuries had shown up. When she walked in on Naruto's training he was so badly beaten he looked like he had replaced one of Lee and Gai's training posts. Yet no matter how careful she was with the scan it had failed to pick anything up. "I must say your healing rate is truly remarkable. I can't find anything wrong with you." she said admitting defeat.

"Well I rushed the process by channeling a small amount of nature chakra through my body and Kurama can accelerate it with his chakra. It's really useful because I hate hospitals." Naruto admitted with a slight shiver.

Karin giggled at the last statement. "Please tell me you are not afraid of hospitals. Or is it needles you can't stand. Either way I find it funny that someone so strong could feel uneasy about something like that."

Naruto shook his head. "I am not afraid of them, I just hate the waiting that Tsunade-Baachan and Sakura-chan always forced me to endure, it was so damn boring! Are we done? It's freezing in here without my top on. Besides the sun is starting to rise so we should get a move on. We should be able to cover twice as much distance through the tunnels as we would in all the snow."

Karin nodded and passed the blond his shirt and jacket. "Yeah, I'm ready to go, just need to get changed and then we can be off." Naruto nodded and they both split up into their separate bedrooms to get ready for the next stage of their journey.

(**Meanwhile**)

It was not only Naruto and Karin that were up before the sun rose. In Iwa a secret meeting was being held, in truth this meeting had lasted several days and so far had accomplished nothing.

"This is getting us nowhere. Enough time has passed since the war yet unlike the other villages we have accomplished nothing." a tall man with dark brown hair black eyes and a rather bulbous nose said harshly.

"If that is how you feel then perhaps you should pull out of the running to be Tsuchikage then, Kitsuchi." a shorter bald man with ocean blue eyes declared.

Kitsuchi folded his arms in defiance. "I am running because I feel I am the right man to take Iwa into any discussions with the other four villages about an alliance. I was selected as a general in the Joint Shinobi Army for a reason. The other Kage trust me."

"Who says we should agree to join any shinobi alliance anyway? We survived perfectly well on our own for over a hundred years. Your father would say the same thing." a elderly woman with curly gray hair wearing rather official looking robes in the traditional dark red that the Iwa shinobi wore.

"We have lost over half of our shinobi during the war, it is not a given that we are the strongest village in the region. The other villages see that as well, that is why this alliance is important. Also if we exclude ourselves from this then we may be targeted in the future. Oonoki would have seen that. The Joint Shinobi Alliance must go ahead with Iwa included. Because of this Kitsuchi is our best choice for the Yondaime Tsuchikage, he is respected by the the other villages and will have more pulling power when it come to what Iwa will put in and take from any alliance." an old man said. He seemed to be about the same age as Oonoki was, well into his ninth decade, but twice the height of the former Kage.

"To have one of the village elders cave to such an atrocity. Without Naruto we can establish ourselves as the major military force in the elemental nations. There is no need to join the other villages." The short bald man declared.

"And that is why you are not suitable to be the next Tsuchikage, Shuuto. We will have saved the world just to have you undo all of our hard work. In the end what would the difference be if the world bows to you over Madara Uchiha?" Kitsuchi asked sternly.

"The Difference is they will bow to Iwa." the now named Shuuto declared. The true weight of what he had said only dawned on him after it had left his mouth. The stress and fatigue of weeks of talks and the fall of the other candidates had finally gotten to him.

"That is enough. While I was hesitant about joining any alliance I can not sit by while you threaten another war on Iwa so soon after the horrors of the Fourth Shinobi War." the female elder declared solemnly.

"It seems your opposition has put his foot into his mouth Kitsuchi. You were always the best choice. As Oonoki's son you have grown up with his teachings. You are also one of if not the strongest shinobi in the village." the other elder said firmly.

"Yes, the village is in no shape to be dragged into another war over something so futile as village superiority. Kitsuchi, you will be our Yondaime Tsuchikage." the elderly Kunoichi declared somewhat reluctantly. She still had her reservations about joining an alliance with the other villages. But with the other candidates having pulled out of the running or deemed unsuitable, her only choice was to agree that Kitsuchi was to be the next Kage of Iwa.

"The Daimyo will be thrilled that we have finally come to a decision on this matter. The other Kages will also be pleased." the elder man said. He was quite pleased with the outcome. He had supported Kitsuchi from the start. In his mind there was nobody better to take over Oonoki's work than his own son. He also supported the idea of a joint village alliance. Most of the shinobi population were in agreement with him on this fact. He was old, he had seen four great wars come and go in his lifetime and was in no hurry to see a fifth. The desire to live out his remaining days in peace were strong, so he knew the best chance that they had for such a life was to join the other village together and let old grievances be in the past.

"It matters little now, but the words I spoke a moment ago were not my actual thoughts. I have no desire to see the world brought back to war. Regardless I concede defeat." Shuuto declared calmly.

"It is good to know that you do not think that way Shuuto. However as you have already guessed we cannot ignore such statements. Kitsuchi you will start as acting Tsuchikage immediately and we will complete the process within a week to make an official declaration. You are both dismissed." the elderly man said.

"Well I may have lost, but at least I get to go to sleep now. You have to go deal with all the paperwork that has amassed since the start of the war, Kitsuchi-sama." Shuuto chuckled patting the new Kage on the back as realization dawned on him as to what he had just gotten himself into.

(**Later that Day**)

In a poorly lit underground complex a group of Konoha shinobi sat around a long table, several objects sat in front of them.

"So she was definitely here then?" Neji asked the group.

"No doubt about it. She must have used this base as either a staging ground or she stayed here until the supplies ran out." Kiba replied.

"I do not think she stayed here for long." Sai said calmly.

"Why is that Sai?" Neji questioned.

The stoic Anbu pointed at a large map that was built into the wall. She came to this specific hideout for a reason. On the map several points were marked, if they were marked by Karin or not they couldn't tell. But what they could see was the exact location of the Joint Shinobi Army headquarters in the Land of Lightning. The skeleton graveyard that Obito used to stage his attack and also other locations that Naruto had been including the Turtle island. "She was either hunting Naruto or marking areas to avoid. But if it was the second one why would she risk coming this close to the Land of Lightning?" Sai answered.

"You think she was hunting for Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked. She was less than happy, to put it lightly, of the thought that someone might still be hunting the blond.

Sai nodded, his usual fake smiling mask was discarded but rather than the fake smile the former Root shinobi showed nothing. "I would say the information points that way. The only question is does she know that he has died and how close to the Joint Shinobi headquarters did she travel. Orochimaru had a base in the Land of Lightning, that would be the best place to start the next stage of the search, but we are running out of time." he spoke as casually as the highly trained Root Anbu that he was.

"What do you mean we're running out of time? I didn't think this mission had a limit." Kiba questioned.

"Of course it has a limit. It was not given because it will last until we are recalled to the village." Neji explained.

"Then how do you know that we are running out of time?" Kiba asked.

To the Inuzuka's surprise it was Hinata who answered first. "That's because Kakashi-sama did not know how long it would take to arrange Naruto-kun's funeral. He let us go until they were ready but we will be called back so we do not miss it."

"Hinata-sama is right, Sai was on Naruto's team I have been expecting to be called back for the past week. Hokage-sama must be delaying the funeral for some reason. My guess is in hopes that Tsunade-sama wakes up." Neji agreed.

"Then what are we waiting for? Lets get moving. It will take a few days to get tot the Land of Lightning." Kiba replied. The small group from Konoha nodded in agreement before briskly heading for the exit.

(**Meanwhile**)

"Wow this tunnel is so long." Naruto spoke as the underground passageway opened for the two teenage Uzumaki.

"It makes sense. They build a straight path to save time in moving from outpost to outpost. It's dark but with a path like this we could cover the same distance in one day that we would in three outside. It is also considerably warmer down here." Karin mused.

"I guess that makes sense. Did you get a copy of the map?" the blond asked.

"Of course I did. Last thing I want is us getting lost down here." the red haired kunoichi answered.

Naruto nodded and took several steps forward into the dark tunnel. "Then we're all set for the next stage of our journey. Too bad things will become far more difficult after this."

**End Chapter!**

**Another chapter down. It was mostly fluff but I wanted to address if only briefly the other sub plots that have been running for awhile. I felt that a sufficient amount of time had passed that it would make no sense for Iwa to still be without a Kage. I also wanted to give the tracking group from Konoha a lead on Karin. Had to fix a small error, it's what I get for not double checking my facts. Thanks for pointing out my mistake it should be better now.**

**Thanks for reading.**


	12. The Insurmountable Peaks pt 2

**I Do not own Naruto, If I did I wouldn't bother writing Fan Fiction.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter: 12: The Insurmountable Peaks pt 2**

It had been a long day for Naruto and Karin. They may not have had any issues with difficult terrain that may have occurred crossing the mountains, but it was pitch black in the tunnel. They had to make extra care not to get turned around, fortunately there were maps carved into the wall whenever they found a junction. Even so, all they could tell was that they were heading north. They guessed that the fastest way through would be to go as far north as they could in the tunnels before they traveled the rest of the way over the insurmountable peaks.

"How long have we been walking for?" Karin asked, with a weary sigh.

Naruto shrugged the truth was that in the pitch black passageway there was no way of telling what the time of day was. "I don't know. It could be two minutes, it could be two days, we have traveled pretty far north so with any luck we should be getting close to the end soon." he said once he realized that Karin couldn't see him shrug.

'**Well my guess is you have been walking for at the very least a full day now. If you were by yourself and moving at top speed we could have been far further north by now, I would say we would have hit the half way point in this mountains.**' Kurama said casually.

'_Maybe, but we wouldn't have found this underground tunnel._' the blond retorted.

'**Oh lets rejoice we have a tunnel. I would rather be safe in the knowledge that your so called travel companion isn't trying to kill you. But what do I know, I'm only hundreds of years old**.' The fox scoffed.

'_Just because you're old, doesn't mean that you're smart._' Naruto replied.

'**This coming from someone who has failed almost every written exam in his life.**' Kurama laughed.

Naruto face vaulted in defeat. '_I may not be book smart, but I can tell when someone is trying to make up for their mistakes. This journey is far more dangerous for Karin than it is for me. Thanks to you I can't freeze to death, I wont get sick from some disease. Despite this she decided to follow me anyway._' Naruto reasoned.

'**The choice between a big risk and certain death isn't very difficult**.' Kurama said sternly.

Naruto was confused by this statement. '_What do you mean?_'

'**You remember why she decided to join you right? No matter how long she hid it was only a matter of time before shinobi from one of the five great nations found her. When that happened she would have been executed faster than she could deny the fact that she was a member of the Akatsuki. Given the choice it's no wonder she decided to follow you. You were on the run as well, and unlike that poor excuse for a kunoichi had a plan. So now put yourself in her shoes, you either risk traveling over a mountain range that has never been crossed before, or you hide and hope that you are never discovered by a shinobi for the rest of your life.**' Kurama explained.

Naruto was about to reply when he was brought back to reality by Karin. "Hey looks like we're at the end of the line." she said pointing to where a small light seemed to emanate in the distance.

Naruto let out a silent sigh of relief that the light was dim and still far away, because after being in the pitch black with only torchlight for the last twenty four hours his eyes were not accustomed to light making the small speck of sunlight difficult to look at directly. "Shouldn't there be an outpost here?" Naruto asked.

Karin nodded in agreement. "Yes but it seems that something has happened to this one. The Insurmountable peaks are considered extremely dangerous for a reason. It's not that hard to believe that a landslide or a storm could destroy one of the building."

"I was kinda hoping for one more night in a bed, looks like it's not to be, still we have our tent and thermal sleeping bags so we will at least be warm. But we will be postponing our stop until we find somewhere to set up a camp." Naruto sighed.

"Then why not just rest here?" Karin asked.

"I've had enough of this darkness. It would be nice to see some sunlight. Besides we shouldn't stop here just because it's convenient. It would be best to at least see what time of day it is." Naruto answered.

"I guess you're right. It will be too dangerous to travel at night time from now on so it's best to make the most of the light we are given. That said, to be on the safe side we should remember to find a campsite early so we're not forced to set up in the dark." Karin replied.

They approached the edge of the source of light, that seemed to be blinding them from it's brightness. So much so that when they reached the edge they couldn't see the edge of the tunnel, but someone could. '**Naruto stop!**' Kurama yelled.

Naruto did as he was told and grabbed Karin's arm as she stepped in front of him. Karin screamed as she almost pulled him along with her as she fell but Naruto's body strength saved them both, channeling chakra into his feet to prevent sliding.. "Woah, easy there." '_Thanks for that Kurama. You really saved us._' He sighed.

'Don't mention it. Just wait for your eyes to adjust before you move on.' the large fox said calmly.

Naruto pulled Karin up to safety and she immediately clung to his jacket shaking from the shock. "It's alright, let's just calm down and see what we're dealing with." he said lightly squeezing the kunoichi to help calm her down.

"H-h-how did y-you know." Karin stuttered.

"Kurama told me, looks like he saved both of us." Naruto answered taking a seat on the ground, his own heartbeat still racing from the fright. Slowly his eyes began adjusting to the light, the white blur starting to take some noticeable shapes he could see the outline of several mountains against the white background. After that the world came into view quickly, at the edge of the tunnel where Naruto and Karin were sitting still panting heavily a massive gorge stretched out in front of them. At the far side they saw what remained of a small hut and end of the tunnel. "What the hell happened here?" Naruto gasped in wonder.

"It looks like the mountain collapsed taking the tunnel with it." Karin replied looking equally as stunned.

"So what do you think our options are?" the blond asked. He looked over the edge of the crater but he could not see the bottom.

"It's way to far to jump, we could always walk around against the wall, it's bound to end at some point." Karin suggested.

"Well I have one idea, but it's a bit of a risk. If I channel some Fuuton chakra into my kunai and wrap a rope around the handle I will be able anchor a rope to the other side of the gorge. We tie the other end to this side and use the rope as a bridge." Naruto suggested.

Karin paused, she was silently weighing up the positives and negatives as well as how much she trusted Naruto to be able to pull this off successfully. 'It is the fastest way across and there is no telling how far we would have to go out of the way to get to the other side otherwise. But if it doesn't take the weight then we would definitely die.' she let out a frustrated sigh before nodding. "Alright I'll go along with it. I hope you know what you're doing." she said eventually if not somewhat reluctantly.

"It will work. I'll cross first and leave a clone behind, that way if the worst happens and it won't take the weight it will be me risking myself, then I'll be on both sides and able to pull you across should anything happen while you are crossing." Naruto said reassuringly.

Karin nodded in acceptance as Naruto threaded a long rope through the a ring at the end of the handle of his kunai making sure to tie a secure knot testing it several times. '_I am going to use a little bit of your chakra to enhance the strength of my throw, we should be far enough away from civilization by now right?_'

'**I would think so, there is a gap around the size of the Land of Fire between where we are and Iwa so my guess is that a small amount of my chakra won't be felt.**' Kurama guessed.

Naruto stood up forcing his Fuuton chakra through the kunai, he silently noted how much more difficult the process was than when attempting the same thing with Asuma's chakra blades. '_Must be the difference between this and chakra conducting metal._' Naruto sighed as he looked for a stable looking target to anchor the rope.

'**Aim for the roof of the tunnel on the other side. It is the best bet on not collapsing from the weight.**' Kurama informed his host.

Naruto nodded silently thanking the fox for his suggestion while taking aim. At the moment he threw the blade Naruto's eyes glowed a slitted red color for the smallest of seconds but that was enough for Karin to feel the overwhelming presence of the oppressive chakra. Even knowing that Naruto was fully in control and the Bijuu would not try to escape and kill them didn't make the experience any less terrifying and exhilarating at the same time.

The kunai crossed the gap in under a second and embedded deeply into the rock of the other side. "Alright I did it!" Naruto cheered giving the rope a few tugs to check the stability. Once satisfied he created a clone and tied the loose end of the rope to the edge of the cave and jumped across grabbing the rope with his hands so he hang down like he was using the monkey bars in the playgrounds back in Konoha. Slowly he edged his way across the gorge.

'**This place smells vile, it was not caused by a natural disaster. Something or someone caused this destruction. But it was done such a long time ago I cannot tell what did it.**' Kurama informed the blond.

"Well heres hoping we don't run into whatever it was." Naruto replied. As he was on his own he didn't mind talking to the Kyuubi out loud.

There was a powerful wind blowing that shook Naruto as he slowly crossed the gap. To counter this effect Naruto channeled chakra into his hands which allowed him to pull himself across the rope much faster. It took him less than a minute to cross the gap and he let out an audible sigh of relief upon his feet touching the ground. "Alright Karin, it's safe come on over, just channel your chakra into your hands so you don't slip off." He called out. Unfortunately thanks to the wind and darkness of the cave Karin could barely see Naruto let alone hear him. It took the him longer than he was proud to admit to realize that she couldn't hear him. Upon making that realization he made a clone letting it dispel instantly.

On the other side of the valley Naruto's clone received the information from his clone dispelling on the other side. "You can go now. Boss made it to the other side... Oh and use chakra on your hands, it makes it easier to cross" the clone said. Karin nodded, she was very nervous and it became obvious as she hesitated, she looked hesitantly at rope that was swaying from the intense wind that seemed to be getting stronger by the second. "Relax Karin, you can do this, besides boss made to the other side so if anything happens he'll save you."

"How can you be so sure." she asked.

Naruto's clone laughed with a chuckle. "That's easy. It's because I am him, and I know that I wouldn't let a friend fall if I could help it. Really I thought you were smart, you should have known that much about clones already."

Karin turned around quickly and jumped, the words of encouragement took away the fear of falling quite effectively. '_What am I doing, this is insane I'm hanging over what would appear to be a bottomless pit supported only by a thin rope held up by a kunai and what remains of a tunnel's support beam. Why the hell did I have to listen to him, and why does he always make me feel so safe all the time. This is definitely not a safe position, hell even if I do cross this damn chasm things will just become more and more dangerous, yet I continue to go along with this._' She thought while edging across the rope.

"She sure is taking a long time. I do hope she's safe." Naruto sighed while he watched the kunoichi hanging from the rope.

'**You could always just cut the rope, she may not die you know. She can go her own way, once she crosses over here there is no turning back, she will travel with you until she inevitably freezes to death as we travel deeper into the mountains. When you think about it, it's really for the best.**' Kurama replied.

"Sorry, Kurama. I know you don't trust her, but you know me well enough to never think that I would abandon someone like that." He replied.

'**I know, as much as it pains me to say it, I have come to accept the fact that she is going to be with us for the foreseeable future.**' Kurama answered with a huff.

(**Meanwhile**)

The tracking team from Konoha arrived at the entrance to the Joint Shinobi Task Force Headquarters. "Wow, I am surprised this place is still up and running." Kiba said in wonder.

"Yes a shadow staff is still in place taking care of most inter village corespondents. Each of the five Kage's have left representatives that they trust to organize the alliance to the point that the Kage's can decide on the future of the alliance." Sai informed the group.

"So who has Kakashi-sama left in charge?" Kiba asked.

Kiba's answer came in the most horrifying way that any man could think of, the angry yell of their mother. "Kiba what the hell are you doing here!" Tsume Inuzuka, the head of the Inuzuka clan yelled from a fair way away, her large ninja hound standing by her side imposingly.

Kiba paled and seemed to shrink, wishing his question could have been left unanswered. Sai being the ever observant man that he was took out his little book and started writing down the human behavior. "It seems that it is not just Shikamaru who fears his mother, this is a common occurrence among male shinobi." he said with his unnerving smile plastered across his face.

Tsume Inuzuka marched over to the tracking group as they entered the complex that they had spent several weeks calling home. "I wasn't expecting any teams from Konoha today. What's the meaning of this?" she asked with some authority.

"We're tracking an escaped kunoichi who was the last member of the Akatuski, we have some evidence that she may have attempted to come here in search of her target." Neji informed the Inuzuka head.

"Akatsuki huh, you would think that they would all be dead by now. So who was the target?" Tsume asked.

"Naruto Uzumaki." Sai said expressionlessly. Tsume arched an eyebrow in interest but remained quiet hoping to hear more. "We believe that she was looking for Naruto in hopes of finding Sasuke. Or she was hoping to remove him as an obstacle for the Uchiha." Sai added, for once correctly reading another persons body language.

Tsume nodded in understanding. "It wouldn't have been all that hard to sneak into camp during the final stages of the war. So many people came in wounded or without their identification. Still someone watching the gates must have seen her enter, it was still policy to let the guards see your face when returning from the front lines." she said confidently.

"That may be but how can you be sure that the person on gate duty is still here?" Neji questioned.

"All shinobi posted as guards for headquarters are still here on duty until the future of the alliance has been decided. If that girl was here we will know." Tsume insisted. She turned to walk towards the command tent marked with the symbol for all five nations. "Follow me, we can call all the guards in one at a time for questioning. Oh and Kiba, I hope you were not planning on leaving before telling me how everything is going with the clan back in Konoha."

(**North of The Land of Earth**)

Karin had successfully crossed the valley and the pair now stood in what remained of the last Iwa outpost. For awhile Naruto had wondered why they had stopped exploring and tunneling further north but he now had his answer. Deep shelves of ice made the terrain appear like massive blade protruded into the sky. In contrast deep cuts in the earth from landslides and avalanches made the ground unstable.

"Wow" Karin gasped at the sight, she had seen mountain ranges before but nothing as imposing as this.

"Yeah, it's amazing isn't it." Naruto agreed. By now the sun was getting low in the sky, and the temperature was dropping considerably.

"Maybe we should make camp here for the night? The cabin might be useless as shelter but at least we know the ground is stable." Karin suggested. She shivered from the cold wind on her face.

Naruto hesitated, if he was being honest he wanted to move further north while they still had some light. '**I agree with her. Up here, the weather can change incredibly quickly. We also have no idea how long it will be before we can find another suitable place to make camp.**' Kurama said, adding his thoughts on the matter.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Naruto said answering both his companions. Naruto took off his backpack and withdrew a sealing scroll and summoned up a pre made tent. The tent was quite large judging on camping standards, Naruto had made sure to get the largest one that he could so that he and Karin would have their own space. It also gave them an extra room so Karin could get dressed in private. "It's not much, but I guess this is home now." he sighed.

"I'm sure it's fine. It might be a little cramped, but it's big enough for the two of us." Kain said kindly.

"It's designed to keep heat in to survive in the coldest climates, but that doesn't mean that it's perfect. I have few heaters that run off chakra to keep us warm." Naruto said opening the front of a tent while summoning a small heater that he placed in the center of the room that held two futons, one on each side of the tent.

Karin shut the tent behind her. She then lay back on her bed to relax, it had been a long day and she was only now realizing just how exhausted she was. "Kami my arms are sore from pulling myself across that damn valley." she sighed while stretching out on her futon.

"Yeah, unfortunately it's not going to get any easier on us. Still we can make it through this." The blond replied.

"What do you think we will find on the other side of these mountains? I mean they can't stretch on forever." Karin asked rubbing her arms. '_I have been relaxing too much, a small thing like that __shouldn't tire me out. Maybe the altitude up here is getting to me._'

(**Iwa**)

The sun had set a few hours ago, yet Kitsuchi was still in his new office he hadn't left it since he taken over as Tsuchikage. He had only had three hours sleep in the last two days and that was interrupted by his new assistant bringing in a new set of papers for him to sign.

Kitsuchi sighed in frustration, the elders had left him days of paperwork to catch up on. He was already regretting his decision to become Tsuchikage. '_So much damn work._' He grumbled signing another mission request form.

The door to his office opened and two shinobi walked in holding a piece of paper. Both wore white lab coats over their standard Iwa jounin outfits. Kitsuchi immediately groaned at the sight of the two. "Kitsuchi-sama, we found something." One of the shinobi said urgently.

"What is it?" Kitsuchi asked. The last thing he needed was some emergency to happen right now.

"Uh... Um, we're scientists working in the chakra sensing and development department. I am Inaka and this is my partner Kouta. A few days ago we picked up a massive spike in chakra up north. It was far to large for any normal shinobi. The only thing we have on record that came close have been the Bijuu." The scientist said the urgency was still in his voice.

"That's impossible, the Bijuu are gone the only one whos location is known would be the Hachibi, are you sure of this?" The new Tsuchikage asked.

"We can't be sure, the spike in cakra only lasted for a few seconds. We have been attempting to find a chakra signature that it would sync with, but nothing in our database comes close." The other scientist, Kouta explained.

"Where in the north was it?" Kitsuchi asked.

"We have been able to pin point it's origin to just outside of Iwame the north most village in the Land of Earth." Inaka said honestly.

Kitsuchi nodded, rubbing his chin. "Yes I know the place, when I was young we held survival exercises using Iwame as a base camp. And before my father became Tsuchikage it was a major outpost for our shinobi."

"Yes we are aware of this, that is why we would like to request two shinobi to form a team and accompany us to the site. We wish to test for any lingering traces of chakra so that if it should appear again it would be less of a surprise, and will give us our best chance at capturing the source. If it is the early signs of a Bijuu reforming after it's container has been killed then it is invaluable research material." Inaka said eagerly.

Kitsuchi was never really big on science. Like his father he was a fighter, but he knew when he had taken the job as Tsuchikage, that he would have to listen to requests that didn't necessarily interest him. "Very well, I will grant you permission to investigate the chakra spike. You have tomorrow to prepare and two weeks to complete your assessment. However if it does turn out to be a Bijuu, then you are to consider the information as classified and return here. Is that understood?" The new Tsuchikage ordered.

"Hai Tsuchikage-sama." Both scientists chorused with a small hint of fear in their voices.

Kitsuchi let out a satisfied grunt, this was the first time that he was able to give an order as a Kage and he had to admit that it felt rather good. "Good, you have your orders, when you find the two men you wish to accompany you on this mission." He said turning his attention back to the still staggeringly large pile of papers he needed to finish. A few moments later he realized that the two scientists were still standing in front of him. "You're dismissed." he said firmly. The pair of shinobi nodded feverishly before scampering out the door. '_Wow you sure had everyone frightened of you old man. I just hope I can do half a good a job in running this place as you did_.'

(Joint Shinobi HQ)

The Konoha tracking team had spent the last few hours interviewing various guards from all the different villages. Most of them had attempted to be helpful but it was of little surprise that they had not seen anyone that matched the picture they had of Karin. The only piece of usable information they had received so far, from what the trackers could tell, had come an elderly jounin from Kiri. All he had said was "The members of that clan all look the same don't they. Used to be hundreds of them walking around, before their home was destroyed."

"What are you talking about, have you seen this girl or not!? Who cares about that other stuff." Kiba yelled angrily.

"Kiba be quiet. I am well aware of what this man is talking about. Time was that red hair was a common site in Konoha." Tsume said sternly.

"That it would be. Best of friends the Senju and Uzumaki clan." The Kiri guard said in an nonchalant manner.

All of the teens eyes widened at this piece of information, even Sai who had been taking down everything that had been said for reference paused with his quill for a split second. "She's an Uzumaki? She looks nothing like Naruto-kun." Hinata gasped.

"That's because Naruto-sama took his fathers traits, rather rare for any Uzumaki to not have red hair, was a symbol of their clan and because of the powerful life affirming chakra that gave them the title of the clan of longevity regardless of parentage ninety percent had red hair. The only ones that didn't were the children born from shinobi with equally powerful chakra, the children of the Shodai Hokage for one." the guard said, he seemed all to happy to keep talking about this subject.

"You know an awful lot about this stuff." Tsume said. She passed a accusatory eye over the man. Konoha and Kiri may be somewhat of allies at the moment but it was possible that he was once a spy.

"Oh I work in the bloodline research department in Kiri. As a non combatant all I am good for here is working at the gates. "Anyway part of my work is researching potential bloodlines by searching out particular ninja with sets of unique skills that may be passed down to the next generation. I haven't always been proud of my work, during the bloodline wars we were tasked with finding people in Kiri that contained bloodline carrying genes and, exposing them. But now I can make amends, by finding surviving clan members and brining them together again." The guard said.

"As fascinating, and horrifying as that is, we have a mission to continue on with here. Now if you don't mind answer our original question, have you seen the kunoichi in this photo." Neji said with a slight scowl.

The Kiri shinobi nodded and picked up the picture examining it closely. "I can't say that I have seen her, but those eyes. Scarlet red eyes, I did see them. The person was wearing a hood and walking from the center of the camp at the end of the war. I thought whoever it was just didn't want to see the bodies of Naruto-sama and the Uchiha they brought back with him."

"If you're right then that means she was here, so one of the guards would have had to see her face in order to let her into the camp. It seems you were of more help than we had expected." Neji declared.

"Oh it's no problem, the Uzumaki clan was one of the most unique clans to have existed so I was bound to know something." The elderly man said while beginning to stand.

"Um, if you don't mind what do you mean by that?" Hinata asked in a timid manner.

The guard smiled and sat back down. "Well for one every generation seemed to have a bunch of children with unique abilities, that while similar could not be considered a bloodline. Occasionally one of them would appear with abilities that made no sense at all. A famous case was Kushina Uzumaki, she had the ability to suppress Bijuu just like the Shodai hokage, I never saw the technique but from our records she could summon chains that she would make from her chakra. Such an ability is unheard of, only Yin Yang release should be able to achieve something like that."

"Is it really that special?" Kiba asked skeptically.

"Of course it is." Tsume said whacking her son lightly across the back of his head to punish his stupidity. "Yin-Yang release is creating something from nothing, only the Rinnegan and to a lesser degree Sharingan have been known to have that power." Tsume only knew this from reading the well documented reports post war on the enemies abilities.

"Precisely. Although it could be said that the Shodai's Mokuton abilities were similar. However it was caused by an overwhelming amount of Yang chakra. The same overwhelming physical power that Naruto-sama exerted when he used the Kyuubi's chakra. The reported effect he had on the Zetsu clone army as well as other Mokuton jutsu proves that fact." The Kiri ninja said happily.

"So um, what happened to Kushina Uzumaki? If she was so amazing why weren't we told about her." Kiba asked.

Surprisingly it was Sai that answered this time. "She died. And you do not know of her, because they didn't want people to know about her."

"Sounds like Danzo was not to fussed about keeping secrets from his men." Tsume huffed in annoyance. As leader of the Inuzuka clan she was an extremely loyal shinobi, she had always seen Danzo and his Root ninja as unnecessary and sole power of the shinobi in Konoha should have gone to the Hokage.

"We were not permitted to give away secrets or talk about Danzo-sama thanks to the seal he placed on our tongues. It stands to reason he felt no misgivings in talking about village secrets." Sai replied with his fake smile firmly in place.

"Hey what village secret are you talking about?" Kiba asked.

Tsume sighed knowing that it would be easier to just tell them. "The law has been removed, so we can now talk about it now. But that does not mean that we will." she said harshly. Her features softened slightly at the downhearted look on her sons face. "Bijuu can't be killed, you know that right." she sighed.

"Yes, that is why Yondaime-sama sealed the Kyuubi into Naruto-kun." Hinata said.

Tsume nodded approvingly. "That's right, but that was only the final part of the story. Naruto was the third jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi in Konoha."

"You mean that there were two Kyuubi jinchuuriki before Naruto? I wonder who they were, if Naruto was anything to go on I bet the others were really amazing." Kiba said.

"They were, but that is enough for now, we may be an allied village but giving sensitive history away to shinobi from another nation could still be considered treason. Even if he does know most of it anyway." Tsume replied.

"I understand completely. I hope your search goes well, but don't get your hopes up. Fantastic sensing abilities the Uzumaki clan had, couldn't sneak up on a trained one if they were blind, death, and dumb." the Kiri ninja said as he left the Konoha comand tent.

"Obviously he never spent any time with Naruto then." Kiba chuckled once he was gone.

"Actually upon completing his senjutsu training Naruto became an incredibly skilled sensor ninja. Even my Kikai beetles couldn't get close without him detecting them." Shino said speaking for the first time.

Kiba shrugged passing the information off as nothing important. "Anyway now that he's gone tell us about the other Kyuubi jinchuuriki."

"Very well. I'll tell you. After you find someone with a solid lead on that target of yours. Don't get side tracked." Tsume said impatiently and walked outside to grab the next guard they had waiting for questioning.

**End Chapter!**

**I think I may be moving this along a little slowly. So I'll try speed things up. Over the next few chapters. Tell me what you think, I have some plans of how I want the next few chapters to play out but I am always open to suggestions. **


	13. Secrets and Discoveries

**I don't Own 'Naruto' never have and never will. If I did things would be quite different.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 13: Secrets and Discoveries**

"So is there anyone else? We have been asking people questions for days now!" Kiba yelled in frustration. His patients had been wearing thin for awhile now, and like most adolescent Inuzuka clan members had a very hard time in situations where they had to be calm and wait.

"Don't be so impatient Kiba. This camp needed hundreds of guards because of how large it was. Or do you think that it's easy to secure and organise well over fifty thousand people?" Tsume replied scolding her son.

"No but I thought we were almost done with that guy that told us Karin was a Uzumaki. That was a day ago, and since then we haven't discovered anything useful at all." The younger Inuzuka sighed, his head pounding against the table. "And you still haven't told us about the Uzumaki clan, or the other Kyuubi Jinchuuriki yet." he added, voice muffled by the wood under his face.

"A needless distraction, focus on the task at hand." Shino droned.

Neji and Sai nodded in agreement. "Our mission comes first, there is no telling how long we have left before Hokage-sama calls us back to the village." Sai said in agreement.

"Um, that is true, but it did seem really interesting. To know about Naruto-kun's family that is." Hinata said timidly. Despite how much the young Hyuuga heiress had grown as a kunoichi, she still struggled to speak her mind when opposed by her cousin especially when they were on a mission where he out ranked her.

"Then we best find the information we need." Neji replied before turning to Shino. "Can you send the next pair in?" he asked the stoic Aburame.

Shino answered wordlessly with a nod that was almost unnoticed while he wore his hood. Soundlessly he opened the door and in walked two people that the group were surprised that they hadn't seen earlier. Izumo and Kotetsu. Despite being highly skilled combat shinobi, the two best friends were almost always placed on guard duty in Konoha and it seemed that here was not all that different. "Wow, hey it's you guys. I thought you would all be back in Konoha by now." Izumo said happy to see a familiar face.

"When they told us they were questioning all the guards I thought something big must have gone down, I'm glad to see it's you guys and not some hard ass like Ibiki." Kotetsu added shivering from the thought of Konoha's top interrogation expert.

"So, what's up? Why did you guys come all the way out here?" Izumo asked taking a seat in front of the large desk, his partner following suit not long after.

"We're looking for someone, a criminal. We have reason to believe that they were here at the end of the war, disguised as a joint shinobi solider." Neji said assertively.

"That explains why your are talking to the guards, the end of the war was pandemonium, all the injured and weary entering from every entrance." Kotetsu sighed,

"we still checked everyone's face as they came in, as we were ordered, but that doesn't mean people couldn't slip thought the cracks." Izumo added trying to assure the tracking group that they had indeed done their jobs properly.

"That is good to know, in that case." Neji slid the picture of Karin across the table to the two shinobi. Have you seen her?" the Hyuuga Jounin asked calmly.

The two looked at the photo for a few seconds then to each other. "Uh yeah we saw her." The said together.

"What really!" Kiba said eagerly.

They both nodded their heads in response. "Yeah she came in with a group of soldiers from Iwa and Suna at the end of the war, she was giving some of the wounded men first aid." Kotetsu informed the group.

"Did you by chance see her leave? It would have been on the same day but after they brought Naruto's body back." Sai said calmly.

"Well we weren't exactly at our best after Naruto was brought back. Let me think for a minute." Kotetsu answered. He sat still for a few moments but eventually opened his mouth again to speak. "I believe so, I remember a girl around her age leaving, she definitely had the red hair, but I couldn't see her face to know for sure."

"Did you see where she went?" Kiba asked getting excited to be closing in on a fresh lead.

"Well I can't be sure but it looked like she was heading west, but that gives you most of the Elemental Nations to work with." Izumo sighed, rubbing the back of his neck in frustration.

"Yeah however you look at it, that seems like it would be a tough one to find now, the trail surely would have gone cold by now. So who is this girl? She doesn't look to be all that strong, and from what we saw she was more of a medic than a fighter." Kotetsu said looking down at the photo of the young kunoichi.

"An ally of Sasuke Uchiha and one of the members of the Akatsuki responsible for attacking the new Raikage before the war." Sai said calmly.

"Wow, didn't think we would see someone like that left after the war. I hope you find her then." Kotetsu whistles somewhat impressed by Karin's notoriety

"It's not like she will have anywhere to go. Once we are ordered back to Konoha her face will be in every village from here to Suna." Sai said calmly.

"You're acting like we're not going to find her Sai, we're the best tracking team in Konoha finding one girl is going to be no problem." Kiba said as confident as ever.

"The chances of us finding her now are incredibly remote. Logically the trail would have run cold a long time ago. The best chance we would have at finding her would be as Sai said, to inform the general public and prevent her from seeking refuge in any village, especially the hidden villages, if they know that all five of the great shinobi village's are after her head then harbouring someone that dangerous would not be a option." Shino said.

"You're supposed to be on my side Shino, what type of teammate are you?" Kiba grumbled bitterly.

"Side's are irrelevant at times like this. It is also incorrect to say that we are the best tracking team in Konoha when the Anbu hunter ninja squads out rank us considerably, as well as having obtained Anbu training in the art of tracking missing ninja." Shino retorted.

"Maybe Shino is right, but... We should perhaps check out the scene of Naruto-kun's fight with Sasuke, it's possible that she went there after she left the camp." Hinata suggested.

"I don't know why she would, if her goal was Naruto or Sasuke, they were both here." Neji replied.

"Perhaps Hinata is right, I read in a book that often to cope with a loss, people seek answers and closure. It could be reasonable to think that our target wanted to know how Sasuke died." Sai said with a small smile. The rest of the group were completely stunned, they may not have known Sai for all that long, but during the time that they had known him he had never once had an accurate reading on human emotions, yet this time what he was saying actually made some form of sense.

Surprisingly it was Kiba who recovered quickest. "I suppose it can't hurt, let's check it out." He said relieved to finally have a new goal in mind.

"It's too late to set out tonight, but tomorrow morning we will check out the battle sight. Oh and you can go now Izumo, Kotetsu." Neji said, giving the two elder shinobi a nod as thanks for their help.

(**Konoha**)

The village had been quiet for the past few days. Kakashi had almost finished the preparations for Naruto's funeral, they had returned to the sending shinobi out on missions outside of the village and the Land of Fire in general. All in all the Rokudaime Hokage had but one real problem on his mind, the currently still unconscious Godaime Hokage that was lying in a high security hospital room.

Kakashi was already fearing the worst for the Slug Sannin, she had been in her coma for months now and showed no signs of waking. That was until a few moments earlier. Tsunade's eyes fluttered open, not that she could see anything. The room she was in was pitch black, only a small light from a heart rate monitor blinked.

The elderly kunoichi tried to sit up but stopped when she felt the uncomfortable tubes she had sticking into her body. '_How long was I out, by the looks of things they have been feeding me through a damn tube, how embarrassing._' she thought slightly sickened by the sensation as she removed the tubes and wires knowing full well that it would send what ever poor sap they had working on her current floor running. "And let me guess, yep mostly naked as well... And worst of all, my Genjutsu broke." she said to herself gazing at her aged hand, she hated people to think that she was weak much less an old hag as Naruto would sometimes affectionately call her.

Stumbling out of bed the former Hokage shuffled to the edge of the room, her muscles were stiff from not having moved for weeks on end finding the far wall she began shuffling her hands across in either direction feeling her way across. It wasn't long before she found what she was looking for, a small indentation and loose fabric. She opened the window blinds of the window without delay and peered out releasing a sigh of relief when she realised that she was in Konoha, the sun was just setting and a dark red glow covered the Hokage monument.

Behind Tsunade the door burst open and in bundled not only Sakura but also Shizune. "Tsunade-sama!" They both yelled with unbridled joy.

Tsunade passed them both a semi irritated look. "This is a hospital, you have patients to think about. Now I'm exhausted, bring me some proper food, if you even think of giving me the stuff they give the patients at the hospital I will have you both on guard duty for the next year." she said sternly leaving no impression that she was joking.

"At once Tsunade-sama, after all that's happened I am just glad you're back with us." Sakura said, she had to wipe a tear from her eye as the reality of the fact Tsunade had awoken was just setting in.

Tsunade waited for Sakura to leave before turning to Shizune who she just realised was hugging the buxom Hokage like she would disappear if she ever let go. "It's nice to see you too Shizune, but I would like to go sit down and you are making that rather difficult."

Shizune paled before blushing a crimson colour in embarrassment. "Sorry Tsunade-sama!" she panicked letting go of her best friend and master, backing away a few feet to give Tsunade some space. "So much has happened while you were unconscious, I don't know where to start." she said timidly knowing at some point she would have to tell the last Senju that her adoptive little brother had died.

Tsunade shrugged and took a seat on the end of her bed, now that some light could get in, she could easily navigate her room. "Well I am sure I can be caught up to speed. I take it we won the war seeing as nobody is in some vegetative state, paralysed from that psychopaths Genjutsu."

"Hai, we won, but not without casualties." Sizune admitted slightly downhearted.

"That is the way with any war, but hopefully this one will be the last that I have to see, there has already been far too much killing for my liking." Tsunade sighed.

"Kakashi-sama has taken over as Hokage, we didn't know when or if you would ever wake up, so there was no choice." Shizune informed her master.

"Heh that's not so bad, Kakashi will be a fine Hokage, I'm just surprised that they didn't choose the damn brat. He's easily the strongest shinobi. But he is still perhaps too young to run a village." Tsunade said suppressing a small snigger at the thought.

"That wouldn't be possible even if Kakashi-sama had refused to become Hokage." Shizune said apprehensively.

Tsunade could sense that there was something that she needed to know and her gaze immediately hardened. "What happened?" It was less of a question and more of an out right demand for answers.

Shizune flinched slightly knowing what was coming. "Um at the end of the war, Naruto-kun was able to sneak out of the camp and he went after Sasuke."

Tsunade's fists clenched, she was told by Kakashi about what Naruto said would happen if they ever fought each other. "He didn't make it back?" she asked, although she already knew the answer.

"No it appears that they killed each other." Shizune replied weakly.

Tsunade's voice held no emotion, it was a blank canvas, but her insides were in turmoil, she felt as if the world had begun to drown. "Where's his body?" she asked passively.

"It's in the Morgue, being preserved with seals. They're holding a funeral for him inviting people from all over the elemental nations, everyone is saying that it will lead to a new age of peace for the Elemental Nations." Shizune said. She knew that the small silver lining around the dark cloud that was Naruto's death would not be enough.

"I want to see the body." Tsunade said firmly. She would not believe that he was really gone until she examined his body herself. '_It would be just like him, if he thought he could save the world he wouldn't mind dying. But I can just feel that something is amiss, maybe I am kidding myself but until I am one hundred percent certain that Naruto is dead I won't simply give up, not like I did with Dan and Nawaki._'

"I can't let you do that right now, you are weak and need rest and plenty of food to help you recover your chakra. Stay in bed for a day or two, and talk to Kakashi-sama." Shizune pleaded trying to calm her master.

As impatient as Tsunade was, she knew when Shizune was right. "Very well, but I want to examine his body personally." She huffed in reluctant acceptance.

It was at that moment that Sakura returned, her arms filled with take away from what seemed like every restaurant in Konoha. "I didn't know what you wanted Tsunade-sama, so I brought a little of everything." she panted. Sakura had ran at full speed around Konoha not stopping for anything accept to pick up the many orders she had been placing.

(Joint Shinobi Task Force HQ)

The Tracking team sat around a large table in the dining hall reserved for Konoha shinobi after the war, it was not mostly empty, just a few essential shinobi that were left behind to keep relations with the other villages strong during their temporary break in talks surrounding the formation of a permanent alliance.

"This might be the last time we come here. Not that I mind, the food is terrible." Kiba sighed while taking a seat. The young Inuzuka was restless, it was rather tough being in a group with a bunch of people that rarely spoke.

"If the alliance talks go well than this place will become a major outpost, we may have to stay here for months on end." Sai replied flatly. The former Root ninja didn't care about the taste of the food, he had spent so long without any real emotions to dislike a place because you disliked the cuisine was pointless.

"It will also mean time spent in all the other villages. A principle part of the blue print for the alliance is having ambassador's, high ranking ninja go on long term exchanges to other villages. To build friendships and ease village tensions." Neji explained.

"How do you both know so much about this?" Kiba asked slightly annoyed he was being left out of the loop.

Sai stared blankly at the tall chunin. "I am an infiltration specialist in Anbu, there isn't much that I don't know."

"And I am the Jounin that is on the list to be given a six month transfer in Iwa." Neji added emotionlessly.

"Really do you know who else is being chosen?" Kiba asked with some excitement, he had always wanted to see some of the other major villages.

"I believe your sister is being sent to Kiri, a kunoichi named Yugao will be going to Suna, and once the post war promotions are given, Shikamaru will be heading to Kumo." Neji answered.

Kiba's shoulders slumped in disappointment, while he knew being chosen was always going to be a long shot, finding out that so many people he knew were chosen was frustrating. "Ah man, why is Shikamaru going and not me?"

"I believe that would be because Gaara chose him as the second in command of their battalion during the war. That sort of thing does not go unnoticed by higher ups." Sai said with a fake smile that he had hoped was comforting... It was not.

"But that means that shinobi from the other villages will be coming to Konoha as well right?" Hinata asked, she had enjoyed talking to some of the shinobi from other villages, they always had fascinating stories about their homes and places they had seen.

"Yes, one shinobi from each village, I do not know who has been chosen." Neji answered.

"Jeez you brats are loud, it's a big hall and I can hear you lot from the kitchen." Tsume Inuzuka said while taking a seat at the far end of the table.

"Sorry, Kaa-san." Kiba mumbled.

Tsume kept a stern face for a few moments before breaking out in laughter. "Still as foolish as ever, Kiba-chan. There is nobody else here so there is no reason to be quiet."

"Jeez Kaa-san, can't you give it a rest, why are you here anyway?" Kiba huffed embarrassed from his mothers teasing.

"I thought you wanted to know about the first two Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi. They are both rather famous in their own right. But I guess that if you want me to leave then thats fine, I'll go." Tsume said nonchalantly.

As the Inuzuka clan head began to stand up Kiba began to panic. "Wait no I'm sorry. Please stay!" he begged, banging his head on the table as he bowed in apology.

Once more Tsume burst out in a fit of laugher but at the same time returned to her seat. "Ah just as easy as your father ever was, all men are the same, dangle something they want in front of their eyes and they are as easy to manipulate as chakra."

All the young ninja at the table looked on with a dead pan expression thinking the same thing. '_I'm not like that at all._'

Tsume ignored the looks of the young men and began her tale. "The story of the Kyuubi Jinchuuriki is almost as old as Konoha itself. You all know about the fight between Madara Uchiha and the Shodai Hokage at the valley of the end I trust?" In response everyone at the table nodded. Then you will know that Madara summoned many of the Bijuu in his fight and the last one he used was the Kyuubi. While Hashirama-sama had been able to contain and subdue the other Bijuu, that fox was far more difficult. In the end however Madara was defeated that day and the Kyuubi restrained, but what to do with the Bijuu? The Kyuubi would not be contained for long even with Shodai-sama's Mokuton abilities."

"So Shodai-sama created a Jinchuuriki?" Hinata asked timidly.

Tsume shook her head. "No Hashirama-sama did not have the required knowledge of sealing to do something like that at the time, nobody in Konoha did." She answered.

"Then how did we get the Jinchuuriki?" Kiba asked.

"The Senju clan had some distant relatives, cousins if you will that came from a different village. Due to their great friendship several members of that family were in Konoha during the time of the fight between Madara and Hashirama-sama. That was the Uzumaki clan. One member, a young woman was one of the finest Fuinjutsu masters in their village. When she came across the Kyuubi breaking free of it's restrains she acted, she sealed the Kyuubi into the only thing possible to contain it, her own body." Tsume paused knowing that there would be some questions.

"I thought it had to be a new born child, one without developed chakra coils." Shino said shocking the group hear the normally silent Aburame ask a question so bluntly.

Tsume nodded in agreement. "Normally that would be the case, the strain of a Bijuu's chakra entering a fully developed body would kill them. But like the guard from Kiri said, the Uzumaki clan always had a few odd balls, it also was next to impossible to kill one of them." she laughed at the end.

"Sounds about right, look at all the people who tried and failed to kill Naruto." Sai said calmly.

"The village that the Uzumaki clan came from was known as the village of longevity because of their clan. They would live twice as long as most would consider normal. They also were blessed with large chakra capacities, ones capable of holding the Bijuu. But most note worth was their use of seals. Fuinjutsu was like second nature to them, once they picked up the art of sealing they would master it. Even the most useless students seemed to have no problem when it came to Fuinjutsu." The Inuzuka clan head explained.

"So who was the first Jinchuuriki?" Neji asked politely.

Tsume smiled, she had fond memories of the kindly old woman she had met a few times as a child. "Her name was Mito Uzumaki."

"I think I have heard that name somewhere before." Hinata said tapping her chin trying to remember where.

"That wouldn't surprise me, your father would have had you taught about the village history as the clan heir of the Hyuuga clan, of course he wouldn't mention that she was a Jinchuuriki and chances are he wouldn't have given you her clan name because Naruto was in your class. Mito Uzumaki became the wife of the Shodai." there was a small gasp from all those at the table save for Sai and Shino who were as expressionless as ever. "From that time the Kyuubi has been inside Konoha however only the clan heads and top ranking shinobi have ever known about it, that was until the night Naruto was born." Tsume said.

"But Mito-sama died long before we were born, so who was the second Jinchuuriki?" Hinata asked.

"That would be Naruto's mother, Kushina Uzumaki. One of the most terrifying women Konoha has ever had, apart from myself of course" Tsume joked.

"If she was Naruto-kun's mother than that means she was also married to a Hokage, Yondaime-sama." Hinata said enjoying the small amount of sentiment knowing how tough Jinchuuriki's lives could be from watching Naruto for so long. "But I was never taught about the Yondaime's wife when I received my history lessons from tutors." she added as an afterthought.

Tsume nodded and a slight scowl crossed her face. "No you wouldn't have. All records of Kushina were kept classified once she died. It's a shame the things we do to one of our own in the name of their protection. Because the village elders feared an attack after the Kyuubi incident, the fact that Naruto was Yondaime-sama's son was kept hidden, only those few that knew the couple personally were privy to that information. It was all done to stop shinobi from other villages killing Naruto because he was a Jinchuuriki and the son of the Yellow Flash." she spat bitterly.

As a Inuzuka Tsume was fiercely loyal to all the people of Konoha, it never sat right with her how Naruto was treated, even if she was somewhat wary of the boy herself at times, if only due to his tendency to prank most of the people of the village.

"So they stopped Naruto from knowing who his parents were, because they were afraid if he knew then he would be targeted by assassins." Neji summarised.

The older kunoichi nodded to affirm Neji's assessment. "That's about it. To be honest I know which I would prefer, to know my life was in constant danger, or to never know my family, I would choose to live knowing someone wanted me dead any day, family is more important than anything. In the end, thanks to the Akatsuki Naruto got to know both pains."

The table fell silent everyone silently thinking about what Tsume had said. The only one struggling with the concept seemed to be Sai, he never had a family and never knew who his real parents were either, yet he had a brother, so to speak, but if they never met then he wouldn't have had that either. After some consideration the former Root ninja decided that the thought of not knowing his brother made him uneasy, so his train of thought changed to deciding what the best nickname for Ino would be, as Beautiful and Ugly didn't seem to go down too well with Sakura.

"So three Jinchuuriki all Uzumaki's yet most of the people act like they never existed." Neji finally spoke, his voice was calm but he was rather upset by this fact.

Tsume agreed with the young Jounin's sentiment "Wether people know about it or not, we all wear their symbol, the spiral on the back of our vests is a whirlpool of Uzushiogakure, emblem of not only their village but also the whole Uzumaki clan. It's there as a mark of respect and friendship between our villages."

"So where is this village?" Kiba asked, he was already making plans to go check it out when he had some time off from missions.

"It was destroyed, many years ago. I am not sure by who, perhaps some of the higher ups know more. Even as a clan head I am not told everything." The kunoichi admitted.

"They must have been something special, I wonder why they were wiped out though." Hinata sighed.

"Old clans have old rivalries, the older they become the more unique it is that they are to be prosperous. Young and idealistic, it's not just what they say about the next generation, old wounds cut deep if they are not healed. Someone obviously held a grudge against the Uzumaki clan." Shino guessed.

"Well on this topic, your guess is as good as mine. If anyone would know, it would be Tsunade-sama. She would be one quarter Uzumaki from her grandmother, she was also Hokage, so there wouldn't be many village secrets that she doesn't know." Neji replied.

Those around the table nodded in agreement. "I still wouldn't rate your chance of getting the answers out of her high." Tsume sighed sympathetically.

"Well we won't know unless we try, then there is also Kakashi-sama, he was the Yondaime's student so he might know something as well." Kiba said confidently.

Tsume sighed and stood up from the table. "I guess you can try." she said before leaving the group to go about their discussion. '_You will never get anything out of Hatake-sama Kiba-chan, as long as his comrades are not in danger he follows his orders. Those who break the rules are trash after all_.'

She was right, Kakashi had always given up what he wanted for his orders. Several times he had asked to be able to meet Naruto as a child, but each time he had been told that Naruto was to have a normal childhood. Although he never enjoyed seeing what that 'normal childhood' contained. He had hoped to train Naruto and Sasuke together for the Chunin exams, that was until he received a small toad messenger right after the preliminary rounds. Jiraiya had come to take over his training, Kakashi knew that he would come eventually but so soon after becoming a team had been somewhat unexpected. Still Kakashi willingly gave up the role of sensei to the author of his favourite books, and he had quite the laugh about just how the first meeting between the pair played out.

(**Northern Land of Earth**)

A day had passed since Naruto and Karin had left the underground tunnel traveling north, and their pace had slowed dramatically, large cliffs of ice forced them to climb high up only to drop straight down at the other side, every so often there would be a minor avalanche that would force the pair to take cover until it passed. But possibly the worst of their situation was the cold, even with their thermal sub zero clothes it was freezing. On the plus side they had found a nice stable place to set up camp for the night, using one of the many steep cliff faces as a wind break.

"Can that heater be turned up anymore I'm still cold." Karin asked, her breath was visible from the cold, showing just how ineffective the heater was.

"No it's on full. I have more heaters but we don't know when we might need the later on, I would rather keep it down to one at a time to preserve the others. We're just going to have to wait for it to start to take effect, this tent is well insulated so hopefully it won't take too long." Naruto replied apologetically.

"You're probably right, damn it I hate being cold." she complained.

Naruto knew she was having a much harder time of it than he was, his skin might be cold but he had an internal super heater that wouldn't let the cold effect him. "Why don't you get into your sleeping bag, warm it up, I'll prepare something to eat." he suggested.

"What's on the menu? I don't mind Ramen but I don't think I could eat it every night like you." Karin asked.

"No I thought some soup, I've heard that's the best way to warm up, a hot bowl of soup. Unfortunately all I have is powdered stuff, we're running out of fresh ingredients." Naruto replied.

"That's fine, I kinda knew things would get worse before they got better when we left this morning, so anything thats hot would be amazing right now." Karin sighed.

A comfortable silence fell while Naruto cooked, and it spread during their meal with only a few words spoken between the pair. It wasn't until they were both settling in for the night that the tent was finally feeling warm. "The temperature must really drop at night. It's taken forever to warm this little area." Naruto said. He knew that tomorrow night would probably be worse and the night after that. These were not called the Insurmountable Peaks for nothing and Naruto was starting to see why.

"I know, I was thinking that a few hours ago." She replied while her mind was off elsewhere. "Her Naruto?"

"Yeah."

"How long do you think we can keep this up? Our bodies will eventually freeze from the cold. We have a finite amount of time in those heaters you brought and it's only going to get harder and colder as we keep climbing. What are we going to do?" She asked, she hated to think about what was happening but she was scared.

"We'll get though, somehow. These mountains have to end sometime and I bet on the other side it will be nice and warm, just you wait." Naruto replied optimistically.

Karin smiled, she enjoyed the blonds positive outlook and she really hoped he was right this time.

**End Chapter!**

**Ah another chapter down. Hope you all enjoyed it. I didn't really focus on Naruto in this chapter, because I wanted to move some of the other plots along a bit, maybe it was just a bit of a filler, but I wanted to do a few small time skips over the next chapter or two so I wanted the group to be finished at the Joint Shinobi HQ and I wanted Tsunade to be awake before I did it. **


	14. The Insurmountable Peaks pt 3

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 14: The Insurmountable Peaks pt 3**

"It's good to see you are awake and well Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said honestly. Secretly the Copycat was hoping he could hand the title of Hokage back to the busty Senju.

Tsunade nodded from her bed in the hospital, Sakura and Shizune had decided that it was in her best interests to stay in the hospital until they could run some tests to be sure that the Godaime Hokage was indeed in full health. "Well it would be nice to leave soon, I have work that I need to do Kakashi... Or should I say Rokudaime-sama." Tsunade replied.

Kakashi eye smiled and rubbed the back of his head in mild embarrassment. "Ah you heard about that huh? To be honest I would be happy to retire and hand the hat back over to you. You're a better suited Hokage than I am."

"Nonsense, I just got free of the damn thing, although you are not the person that I expected to be wearing the hat after the war. Even if Naruto was only a Genin, there was not a person in the Elemental Nations that could lay a finger on him, he proved that when A-dono tried to prevent him joining the war, and he more than proved himself on the battlefield." Tsunade said.

The newly elected Hokage nodded in agreement. "Yes he certainly was the catalyst behind winning the war, and you are right, he would be standing where I am now as Hokage if he had survived the fight with Sasuke." He admitted bitterly. Once more failing to protect someone he cared about was like adding another dagger into a heart that had long since stopped beating.

"I don't believe it." Tsunade spoke calmly.

"Don't believe what?"

"I don't believe that he is dead, I can't explain it but I just have this feeling that he is still out there somewhere." She answered calmly.

"I know what you mean, even though I have seen the body and it has been examined, something just doesn't feel right. But if he was alive, then why would he leave?" Kakashi questioned. It had been a thought that had ran through the Copycat's mind at least once a day ever since they had found Naruto and Sasuke's bodies. He let out a sigh and walked over to the window to gaze out over the village.

Everything the Hokage could see was new, all the buildings that now rose high around him inside a large crater that had been created less than a year ago when the man known as Pein had crushed the previous Konoha with a single jutsu. "I want to assess Naruto's body for myself. Then I might be able to answer your question." Tsunade said from her bed.

"I'll grant you access first thing in the morning. Or should I say, the moment you are released from your apprentices care." Kakashi said without looking back at the large chested Senju princess.

"Has there been anything else odd that has happened since Naruto was supposedly killed?" Tsunade asked.

Kakashi thought about it for a moment then he remembered something. "Now that you mention it yes, all the Toads have vanished from Konoha, perhaps Katsuyu might know something, but we haven't found any toads, summonable or otherwise." The Rokudaime replied.

"Why would they disappear, when Jiraiya was killed there were toads everywhere. This is just getting more and more suspicious as far as I'm concerned." Tsunade said and quickly ran through a set of hand seals.

Slamming her hands onto her bedside table, a puff of smoke followed and when it cleared a small pale slug appeared. "Tsunade-hime, it is good to see you have recovered. I was very worried this time." the slug said with a distinctly feminine voice.

"Good to see you as well Katsuyu, sorry I had to summon you in your small form." Tsunade replied.

"Think nothing of it Hime, was there something that you needed?" The slug asked curiously.

"I was wondering if you had any idea why the toads have withdrawn from the forests around Konoha?" Tsunade questioned.

"I have not heard from the toads in several months now, they are being very secretive, from what I would guess, if they are not around Konoha, then they must have all retreated back to Myobokuzan." Katsuyu answered calmly.

"Something is certainly not right. Things will become more clear when I can examine the body." Tsunade mused.

"Even if you are right and Naruto is alive, he would have had a reason for going into hiding. Maybe it would be best to leave him be, he has earned that right after all he has done for us." Kakashi reasoned.

"No way, he deserves one hell of an ass kicking for lying to everyone." Tsunade said half seriously.

Kakashi laughed knowing that Tsunade wasn't serious. "Well I really hope you are right. With how strong Naruto was, it just doesn't seem possible that he could have lost." The silver haired Copycat sighed.

"Well I was unconsious for most of the war after the fight with Madara, but I did see Naruto easily avoid having his clone dispelled by the Madara's Susanoo, there is no way Sasuke could have become stronger than Madara in such a short time." Tsunade stated.

"I agree it does seem highly unlikely. But it is what the great Toad sage saw happening." Kakashi said with a hint of reservation, he knew it wasn't a good idea to get his hopes up.

"The old toad can be misinterpreted, it was only after Naruto's fight with Pein that he realised that it was both Naruto and Nagato were the children supposed to lead this world to peace. Not until Nagato gave up his life and supported Naruto did he truly become their destined child. It is possible that what the toad sage saw was Naruto's choice." Tsunade said firmly.

"It makes sense I suppose, but it still doesn't explain the body we have in the morgue waiting for the funeral." Kakashi sighed.

Tsunade nodded solemnly and let her head rest back on the pillows of her hospital. "Maybe not, and I know it's a long shot. But my gut tells me Naruto is still alive somewhere. He wouldn't give up if it was one of us, so I won't give up on him." she declared.

"You're right, he wouldn't. I'll make sure you have access to Naruto's body by tomorrow morning." Kakashi said and the next moment he was gone, jumping out of the window.

(**The Next Day**)

Naruto and Karin had woken late, the morning had been so cold that neither wanted to move. But eventually, thanks to Kurama's pestering the blond had stirred and the smell of an impending breakfast had finally persuaded Karin to get out of bed and join him.

"It's freezing, I swear it's even colder than it was last night." Karin said shivering slightly as she took a seat next to Naruto in the tent as he heated some powdered soup in a saucepan over a small camping stove, while several pieces of what would be the last of their fresh bread were toasting in a separate pan with some eggs.

The small source of heat from the flames was a welcome feeling even though it barely helped the pair. "I thought soup might be nice to warm us up a bit, we probably won't get far today because we slept in, but staying put because it's cold will be counter productive. Chances are it won't be getting much warmer than this for awhile so we should just do our best and push on while we can." The blond said as enthusiastically as he could manage.

"Yeah I guess you're right, I don't know why, but I guess I thought things would be a little easier than this." Karin admitted.

"Yeah I know what you mean. I guess I should have known better considering that they are called the Insurmountable Peaks, but I never thought it would be this difficult." Naruto agreed with a sympathetic smile.

"Maybe we should head for the lower ground? It will take us longer to reach our destination, but the terrain should be easier to deal with, it should also be easier to find a place to set up camp if we are at a lower altitude on the mountains." The red haired scientist theorised.

"That might be a good idea, I was never one for that type of thing, I just push through with whatever I needed to do head on." The blond replied.

"Sounds a little bit like Sasuke, he seemed to think he was invincible as well. He payed for it in the end, you need to think things through more." Karin lectured.

"Ah you sound just like Kakashi-sensei, I suck at making plans, I prefer to just think up a plan as I fight." Naruto chuckled, while the fond memory of him being manhandled by Kakashi during his Genin exam ran though his head courtesy of Kurama who had decided to show what can happen if you run into a situation unprepared. "Maybe I could do with being a bit more level headed though, maybe you can help me with that, I mean you must be really smart if Orochimaru-teme used you as a scientist."

Karin blushed slightly from the praise, she was so unused to being treated as an equal that she found even this small amount of support to be somewhat embarrassing. "I uh, I guess I'm sort of intelligent but I don't really know what I could teach you, I was never much of a fighter."

"That doesn't matter, in fact it's even better. All I know how to do is fight, I was born to be a shinobi, all jinchuuriki are. But you have the chance for a better life, away from simply being muscle for hire. I bet when we get over these mountains there will be tons of things you can do, all I will be good for is maybe a hunter." Naruto replied.

Once more Karin blushed. "You are over selling my talents. But thank you." she said with a small genuine smile.

'_She's cute when she smiles._' Naruto thought. He ignored Kyuubi's derisive grunt as the steam coming from his soup indicated that their breakfast was ready. "Alright, eat up we're going to need our energy." He said while serving up two equal servings and handing the slightly larger portion to the kunoichi.

"Soup isn't really a breakfast food, but I have to say it is doing it's job warming me up." Karin said slightly surprised.

If it was cold in the tent, then outside was absolutely freezing. When the two teens finally exited their small refuse from the weather they were met with winds that flung the snow off the ground and stung their faces, it felt like hundreds of small blades were digging into the skin. Naruto did his best to ignore the pain and packed up the tent while Karin produced a thick scarf from her back pack and wrapped it around her neck and face to dull the force of the wind.

"This wind is so powerful, it's almost like a Fuuton jutsu." Naruto complained once he had the tent packed away. Karin attempted to reply but her voice was muffled by the thick fabric she was using as a mask, much to the amusement of the blond jinchuuriki. "I don't know what's funnier, the way you look or the way you sound." he said muffling a laugh.

Not wanting to speak again, knowing Naruto wouldn't understand her anyway the Red headed teen responded by grabbing a fist full of snow and sending it slamming right into the blonds face. It was then her turn to break out in laughter, even if it was barely audible.

"That's uncool! If we didn't have to get moving I would so get you back for that." Naruto replied with some mild annoyance. Karin just continued laughing as she ran past the jinchuuriki as he removed the remaining snow from around his face. "Hey get back here!" he called out chasing after the kunoichi.

This day's travel was proving to be every bit as as trecherous as the day before, they both had to have chakra channeling to their feet almost constantly, because at any moment the ground would give way, and they would need something firm to kick off from back to safe firm land.

They had crossed several large gully's and it wasn't even mid afternoon. On the plus side they had started to pick up the pace. Working together as a team, the natural obstacle course that the mountains would throw up became little more than minor inconveniences. "At this rathe we will end up covering more ground today than we did in the past few combined." Naruto said happily as he helped Karin over a large ice wall.

What he hadn't expected was for another voice to respond. "**Is that so young one?**"

Naruto and Karin both spun around and came face to face with a giant snow leopard, not as large as one of the Bijuu or even Gamabunta but perhaps half the size of the boss toad. "Wow you're huge!" Naruto said in awe, he wasn't all that surprised to see such a large animal, but he thought maybe if he could get on it's good side they might help them travel through the mountains, Gamabunta, and all of the toads for that matter were no good in these mountains because they were cold blooded.

"**Congratulations you have a firm grasp of the obvious, Baka.**" the large feline scoffed.

"Hey I'm not a Baka... Neko-teme." Naruto replied angrily.

"Don't insult it, it's ten times our size!" Karin yelled freeing her mouth from the scarf.

"**You should listen to the female, you'll live longer.**"

"Yeah she's really smart, but you shouldn't be so full of yourself." Naruto retorted.

Karin cringed at her traveling companions words. "Now why did you have to say that? All you are going to do is make him mad... I'm sorry about my friend, he's a little slow."

"Are you seriously telling me you are okay with him referring to you as 'the female'? Besides, he's going to attack us anyway, he's leaking out enough killing intent to take out a Jounin." Naruto retorted.

"I'm not feeling an... You're blocking it with your chakra." Karin gasped.

"The female appears to be slower than I first thought. Still none of that matters now." the large snow leopard sighed. The cat took a large yet very brisk swipe at the pair. Naruto was more than ready however and jumped back grabbing Karin on his way.

"Damn I was hoping to keep it talking for a few more seconds, I'm still short of chakra for sage mode." he sighed while creating a five clones. Two of them moved into a meditative seated position while the one other helped him form a rasengan. 'I really need to learn how to do this without clones. Well once we are out of danger and I find a place to settle down I can work on it.' he thought. Wordlessly he ordered the three unoccupied clones to rush in at the leopard one at a time.

The first clone was cleaned up by a massive paw, something that the second easily avoided. However it was not able to avoid a massive spike of ice, similar to the ones he and Karin had been navigating, that the feline shot from it's mouth. "**This is a pointless game, stop sending these stupid clones at me and fight for yourself.**"

'Hyoton, just like Haku used. What is this thing? Oh well it doesn't really matter I suppose, I just need it out of the way or we're toast.' Naruto thought while his third clone made it's move and he used the distraction to sneak around behind it.

His clone easily slipped under the giant paw, then spun out of the way of the Hyoton jutsu. It reached the giant cat's front paws before the creature's fur stuck up and shot out in a hail of senbon like spikes. The memory had stunned Naruto for a few seconds, he had seen someone use a technique that was so similar it was scary. Jiraiya's Needle Jizo with his hair manipulation techniques was almost exactly the same. But for that reason Naruto knew the weakness. From behind Naruto jumped high up in the air, careful to avoid making a sound the rasengan in his hand still spinning. His decent started over the back of the large creature, his target was the back of the neck.

"Nice try human." the Leopard laughed before it's tail slapped the blond away.

Naruto created a few clones in mid air to steady him and cushion his fall. "Dammit why do I always forget about tails."

'**It may be... and this is just a theory, because you are an idiot?**' Kurama suggested.

"Very funny. Now do you have any suggestions on defeating this guy?" he asked.

'**I don't see what the big deal is, you were able to defeat me and this creature is nothing compared to me.**' The fox replied casually.

"This is a little different, I knew what to expect from you, this thing is far calmer than you were at the time. I doubt it will lose it's temper so easily." Naruto said with a sigh.

'**Then make it lose it's temper, you should be able to defeat it easily with that sage mode of yours. And we should be fart enough away from civilisation that using my chakra won't be sensed anymore if you get into a tough situation.**' The Kyuubi answered calmly.

"I know but I don't really want to rely on either you or Sage Mode for my strength. I need to be strong in my own right as well." Naruto said.

'**Well that's something to work towards when you are not facing a twenty five foot long deranged cat that would like nothing better than to rip you limb from limb.**' Kurama scoffed.

"He reminds me of you." Naruto joked but he had made up his mind and agreed with the fox. He would become strong without his Sage Mode and Bijuu cloak but first he needed to survive this encounter. His clone dispelled at the same moment that the snow leopard found him.

It's paw came down and snow was flown everywhere. Karin almost had a heart attack as she thought Naruto had been crushed. '_No, you can't be gone like that. Don't leave me as well I need you._' she thought desperately. Her thoughts were forgotten a second later however as Naruto appeared off to the side of the large cat, his eyes changes to gold with bar like pupils and dark markings formed around his eyes.

"**Senjutsu... you know sage arts!**" the Leopard gasped in shock.

"Damn right I do." Naruto said boldly creating a swarm of clones. Each pair creating a rasengan. "Now eat this!" he yelled as all his clones rushed forward, the rasengan in each clones hand swelling in size. "Never ending Oodama Rasengan Barrage!" he yelled as clone after clone flew at the beast.

The swarm of clones were dispelled in large groups, not able to avoid the large leopards many defences but several still broke through. Finally when he came close enough the the felines hairs once more shot out trying to turn the clones into pin cushions. Unfortunately Naruto had seen that Jiraiya's hair jutsu so many times in the past his remaining clones all knew how to avoid them.

Thrusting their arms forward they used the giant rasengan each held as a shield. The hair needles crashed against the jutsu and were thrown elsewhere. The cat could only watch with a shocked expression as the few surviving clones each hit the target with their rasengan.

The leopard was thrown away with the force, crashing into a gully. Karin was stunned, this was the first time she had seen Naruto fight seriously and she was starting to understand just how he was able to defeat Sasuke. He had just defeated that giant creature with only two jutsu, he barely lifted a finger himself, he hadn't even broken a sweat. Although she wondered if that was just because of how cold it was, his sweat would simply freeze. "That was amazing Naruto! But if you didn't antagonise him in the first place this wouldn't have happened." her mood swinging from joyfull to angry in a matter of seconds.

"No this isn't over yet. If it was I doubt the others would be just sitting there." Naruto said flatly.

"Others you mean there are more of them?"

Naruto nodded his answer. "See for yourself, two up on each ridge that are about the same size, and a fifth one heading this way. So worst case scenario we're facing six, but the others seems to be just watching for now." he said said as the large leopard he had struck with his jutsu began to stir.

Karin closed her eyes and focused on searching for the other creatures that Naruto had mentioned. He was right on each side of the shallow valley they had been using for shelter and an easy path there were two more snow leopards. '_This isn't good, I can't fight against something like that, this is just like when that rapping Hachibi jinchuuriki transformed we were all helpless._' she thought desperately. '_But Naruto is standing there waiting for anything that they throw at him amazing... Man what an idiot, he should be trying to run, or negotiate._'

"**Lucky hit Gaki, but you haven't won yet.**" the Injured leopard spat angrily. Small patches of burnt skin shone through his white fur and Naruto could tell he was walking with a limp.

"You should give up before things get anymore serious, I don't want to hurt you. That goes for the other watching the fight as well." Naruto yelled making sure he was loud enough for the others to hear him.

"**Heh looks like we've been found out. I guess that's to be expected from a sage. Even if it is a goofy looking one.**" a foreign voice replied and an instant later four large snow leopards each landed beside the injured one.

"**The kids tough, but I think he might be a little over confident don't you think?**" another said in a feminine voice.

"**Yeah let's show this punk why we don't allow anyone to trespass on our mountain.**" The first to talk said.

Naruto stood still, waiting patiently while he topped up his nature chakra he only had one more clone to de spell to enter sage mode once this ran out so he needed to be efficient. He still had his ace in the hole but he thought that it may be a little excessive, even if he was facing five giant cats.

In one movement all five of the leopards moved, two spread out wide in hopes of getting behind the blond while two others shot forward looking like they would run straight through Naruto then keep going. Meanwhile the injured leopard was moving up to higher ground.

Naruto created several clones that he sent to deal with three of the four giant cats. Meanwhile he moved to intercept one of the two that was charging at him. A paw came down to crush him as it came within range but he rolled out of the way. A quick burst of chakra to his feet and he was behind the snow cat in an instant, with a firm grip of it's tail. With his Senjutsu enhanced strength he stopped the feline's movements before tossing the creature over his shoulder. The beast let out a terrifying screech that sounded like a rusty kunai scraping against the chalkboard of the academy, only ten times as loud. "So it turns out you don't like having your tails pulled. Still you're less of a hassle than another cat I could mention." Naruto said, thinking about Tora the bane of Konoha Genin.

His clones were not having as easy a time as he had but were still coping with their targets. From her hiding place Karin could hardly believe her eyes. Naruto was in complete control, and he hadn't even used his Bijuu cloak yet.

The truth was after sparring with Kurama for so long, he was used to fighting over sized animals that could crush him with a single hit. Naruto watched as his clones successfully subdued their targets. Then his attention turned to the last leopard. It had climbed a fair way up the mountainside, it was faster than he had thought even while injured. Once it saw that the others had been defeated it turned to face Naruto. Opening it's mouth it shot forth a massive series of ice pillars that expanded as they fell towards him.

'_I can't escape that like this, even if I could, something that large would crush Karin as well._' he realised while creating two clones. Acting as quickly as he could, Naruto began channeling chakra into his palm while one clone handled the rotation and the other handled elemental manipulation. "Fuuton: Rasenshuriken!" The blond yelled as he tossed the disk like projectile.

"He can throw something like that!?" Karin gasped in surprise.

The Rasenshuriken struck the giant slabs of ice and exploded, ripping the leopards jutsu to shreds. "I can't let him use that jutsu again, I guess I have no choice." Naruto said as his Sage Mode faded. A massive burst of chakra followed and when the dust from the explosion of ice and wind passed the blond stood with his body coated in bright yellow flame-like chakra and black seal markings that spread across his body.

"**What is that?**" The Leopard asked in awe.

Before he could blink Naruto was behind him. "You don't need to know." Naruto said before kicking the giant cat down into the gully to join it's brothers. Naruto landed on the ground in the middle of where each leopard was trying to stand before he wrapped each of the up in his chakra arms, pinning them to the ground. "Now do you want to tell me why you attacked us?" he asked.

"**We're just doing our duty, these mountains are sacred, nobody is allowed to pass this point.**" One of the leopards said as it attempted to stand under the crushing pressure of Naruto's chakra arms.

"So you're a summon clan. You protect your lands from outsiders, just like the toads and Myobokuzan. You can't reach there unless you are a summoner, even if you know the way you would meet several of the battle toads to deny entrance." Naruto said calmly.

"**Very astute of you young sage.**" a new voice said calmly. Turning to the source Naruto saw a new snow leopard almost twice the size of the others, rivalling Gamabunta in hight, only slightly smaller than Kurama. Unlike the others this new arrival showed no hostility towards the blond. "**We have been expecting you. Our elder has foreseen your coming, they will not attempt to harm you anymore.**" she added in a commanding tone.

Naruto smirked and released his Bijuu cloak. "You say your elder saw me coming. What did they see exactly?"

"**The elder saw the arrival of a man who would bring balance, and correct our mistakes of the past. And a young woman who would be the first to take up our contract. Nobody has made it this far north in almost one hundred years, the last man to pass our test was not worthy of ****signing the contract. Your companion however is, as you cannot. You have the smell of toads, we do not share summoners and I am sure the Toad clan has similar feelings.**" The large leopard explained.

"Huh, you have one hell of a test." Naruto sighed looking at the five other summons.

Karin picked this moment to come out of hiding. "Uh does that mean you are willing to help us get through these mountains?" she asked hopefully.

"**No, if you desire to go to the northern lands, then that is a test you must pass on your own. But we will take you in and give you shelter until you decide to venture forth. Now child of destiny, the elder of the Leopard clan wishes to speak to you.**"

"I sure hope they are more right in the head than the Great Toad Sage. If not this meeting could take forever." Naruto mumbled lightly so that only Karin could hear.

Or so he thought. "**I assure you that the elder is very capable. On another note, you girl, what is your name?**"

"Karin." The red head answered quickly.

"**Very well Karin, I am Yuneko, the Matriarch of the Snow Leopard clan. I look forward to working with you in the future if you agree to sign our summoning contract... Now both of you get on, there is still a fair way to travel before we get to our ancestral home.**" The newly named Yuneko said leaning down to let Naruto and Karin onto her back.

They breezed passed mountain tops like they were not even there. What would have taken days, even weeks to travel only took a few hours on the back of the giant feline. Yet despite this the mountains continued to appear in the distance. '_Man imagine how easy this would be if we just had the big boss cat take us to the other side of the mountains._' Naruto sighed.

'**True, but you heard what she said, it's a path we must travel alone. Just enjoy the small shortcut while you can.**' Kurama said lazily.

All too soon the giant cat stopped coming to a halt in front of the largest cave Naruto had ever seen. The ground outside the entrance was flat and Naruto guessed it was about the size of Konoha. "**Inside you will find warmth and shelter for a few nights. Let's not keep the elder waiting, he is anxious to meet you both.**" Yuneko said calmly before moving towards the cave entrance.

**End Chapter! **

**Okay another chapter done. Decided that it had been too long without any action so I needed to think of something that they could face in the mountains. I thought having a summon clan would be an interesting development and believable inclusion. If not feel free to tell me what you think.**

**Okay spoiler alert, how was Hashirama's story supposed to save Sasuke? It didn't answer his question at all. Not that I care, personally I wish Hasirama would simply kill the prick for threatening his village. I mean if he was willing to kill his best friend, surely he wouldn't bat an eyelash at the thought of killing Sasuke. Besides he and Tobirama could do what Madara did when the first Edotensei was released and simply come back, if Orochimaru ended the jutsu to try and save the prick, while ignoring the fact that they need to have sacrifices. Or maybe plot holes are only allowed if you're an Uchiha? **

**I know a few of you are waiting for Naruto and Karin to get together. But I don't want to rush anything, I'm trying to make it seem organic and not forced and the best way to do that would be to take things slowly. Sorry if that disappoints, but this should be a long fic. Maybe not as long as Nightfall will end up being lol, but long enough so the fact that they haven't fallen in love yet isn't going to be a major issue in terms of plot.**

**I think I may have rushed this chapter a little bit. I am going to be very busy at work next week, so I didn't know how much time I would get to write. So I made sure to get it all done over the weekend. Hope it's still up to standard, if not feel free to criticise, I can take it... I hope.**


	15. The Leopards in the Hollow Mountain

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 15: The Leopards in the Hollow Mountain**

Naruto looked around in awe as Yuneko, the Matriarch of the Snow Leopard summon clan took them deeper into the mountain cave. Regardless of how deep they were underground, strangely there was still light, almost like the ice walls were glowing to greet the leopards home. Another rather obvious thing Naruto was noticing, was that the temperature was increasing rapidly. Naruto was already feeling stuffy in his large thermal jacket and pants.

"**We are almost to the village. be ready because the temperature is quite drastically different to what you have experienced outside. We Snow Leopards may be in our element in the cold and snow, but we love nothing more than a warm place to sleep.**" Yuneko said as the path took a steep decline.

They came out in a large stone cave, a massive open area that rose high up with what looked like smaller caves that had been turned into homes scattered around the edges. The sizes would descend, with the largest Leopards living on the bottom level and growing smaller as they go up until there were small holes only big enough for a cub right at the top. A large river of steaming water traveled through the middle of the giant cave, lit by crystals that bathed the giant open area in a bright blue glow. Both Naruto and Karin were bug eyed at the sight. Snow leopards of every size lay around from place to place, a few sending the two shinobi lazy stares. '_There is so many of them, certainly more than the toad clan._' Naruto thought in wonderment.

"Kami it's hot in here." Karin complained gripping the neck of her jacket trying let more air in. Naruto simply unzipped his jacket and stored it away in his back pack. Karin eventually deciding to do the same.

"**Yes the our underground village is heated by hot springs, each individual leopards cave has their own hot spring for warmth and a bath to suit the leopards size. We will prepare a cave for your stay once we meet with the elder.**" The giant snow leopard explained. It said a lot about the sheer size of the place that Yuneko was barely tall enough to reach a quarter of the way to the top if she was standing on her hind legs.

"So where does this elder live?" Naruto asked in his usual brash manner.

"**The elder has a private chamber at the far end of this hall, we will be there momentarily.**" The large leopard answered. When they arrived at the far end of the hall two large passageways curled in either direction, leading up to the caves that littered the walls. In between them, a larger path led down further underground, where a dull red glow could be seen and the heat radiating from below was intense. "**The elder lives down here.**" Yuneko stated as they crossed into the new cave leading down.

The path curled around, the walls seemed to reflect even the dullest light to illuminate their path. It opened out into a thin hall of jet black stone, the glowed with a red tint that came from a thin creek of lava. The room felt like a sauna, steam was rising from small cracks in the floor. At the far end of the hall Naruto was surprised to see a large stone house with intricately carved statues of large leopards lining the pathway. The entrance was of course large enough for even the biggest of the leopards to enter.

As they approached a regular sized leopard came out to greet them. "You brought them Yuneko-sama?" the new feline asked in a deep masculine voice, despite not having the commanding power of the massive leopard before him it held a sense of authority.

"**Of course I did, Namayu. Is he ready to see them?**" Yuneko asked.

The now named Namayu nodded once. "He is, but he desires to speak with them one at a time. He has things to discuss in private, and a summoning contract to hand out to the girl. Please send in the young sage."

Naruto, guessing that he meant him, jumped off Yuneko's back landing in front of the much smaller cat. "You mean me right?" he asked.

"This is the boy? He doesn't look like much. Maybe Elder-sama is getting a little too old I see nothing special about him." Namayu said dispassionately.

A tick mark formed upon Naruto's head, being looked down upon was always a pet peeve of the blond. Yuneko laughed but soon became serious. "**He defeated the mountain guardians at the eastern pass, with ease I might add. Nobody has done that since-**"

"Hm very well, you may enter boy." Namayu interrupted the larger feline much to her annoyance, yet she let it go for now.

Naruto just shrugged and walked past the smaller leopard while mumbling something about being talked down to by a fur ball. '**You act as if that doesn't happen all the time.**' Kurama taunted picking up on the blonds annoyance. The inside of the house was another large hall, however this was very poorly lit, giving Naruto very little to see in front of his face.

'_It's different if it's you Kurama, he was judging me without even knowing me._' Naruto answered.

'**So you're saying that I can talk down to you more often than I do already, oh what fun.**' The large fox guffawed.

'_Yeah but no matter how much you do, you still have to live with the fact I beat you in a fight and stole your chakra._' Naruto replied jokingly.

Kurama scoffed at Naruto's response. '**Whatever, don't get too confident, I could always stop helping you. Anyway look sharp, you're being watched.**'

'_Yeah I know, I can feel it, something moving in the shadows, the stealth is amazing to not make a single sound despite where we are._' Naruto agreed. A few steps later and a large empty cushioned pedestal appeared, light shone down on it from above and illuminated the hall.

Naruto spun around to catch his stalker who had chosen that moment to move. He was surprised however to see an elderly leopard, thin and battle scarred. "You knew I was following you?" the leopard asked in a croaky voice.

"Well, you could say I am a bit of a sensor, although the truth is I have nothing on Karin." Naruto admitted.

"You are the child I have been waiting for, I knew from the moment you stepped into my hall." the elder cat said with a victorious smirk before leaping gracefully over Naruto and onto the large cushion in the centre of the hall.

"Why have you been waiting for me?" Naruto asked curiously.

"You boy are fated for great things. The saviour of a world must die in one only to be reborn in another." the elder said matter of factly.

Naruto was completely lost. "What are you talking about? Are you planning on trying to kill me, because I am not going down without a fight!" Naruto declared his eyes taking on a tint of red as Kurama was ready to jump in and defend Naruto if need be.

The elder leopard laughed loudly, although not in a threatening way "You miss understand me boy. You died, did you not? Faked your death and ran away? You leave one world behind to travel to another. You are the child of destiny chosen by fate."

"Fate huh, I am not a big believer in that, the last time I listened to a prophecy it told me I would die. Yet here I am, alive and well. The only fate that is definite is death, and it's one we all share." Naruto replied.

"But I just told you, you did die. To the people of your world, their saviour died." The leopard retorted.

"Because I wanted to bring peace, the prophecy of the Toad Sage said that my death fighting Sasuke would be the catalyst for a great era of peace. I made a promise that I would bring peace to the world. I promised my sensei, and my fellow disciple that I wouldn't give up until I did. I never go back on my word." Naruto said in a huff, he gave up his dreams of being Hokage, a future in Konoha for them to have peace.

"Yes and that is what brought you here, you... the one who brings balance. The Toad clan are not the only ones with a seer, and the future that any seer sees can be misinterpreted. Visions in the end are just that, visions. They give you a glimpse, but not the full story." The elder said happily.

Naruto didn't exactly follow him but decided the discussion was pointless. "What do you want with me then?" he asked.

"To tell you that your trials are not over, in the future you will encounter a situation where you will make a choice, and your answer will decide the fate of millions." the elder decreed.

Naruto was filled with anger, that wasn't directed at anyone. "Why! I don't want this anymore. Haven't I sacrificed enough? I am sick of having fate and destiny forced upon me. I will live my life the way I see fit, I am not looking to be a hero anymore." he said, his voice cracking slightly at the end.

"If when the time comes and that is your answer, then so be it. I have no more to say, but before you go think on this. War is a horrible thing, but no wars are fought over nothing. In a world where people with equal wills have conflicting views on the world, there will be no answer but force." The elder paused for a moment letting his words sink in. "Please send the girl in, Namayu will show you to your bedchamber."

Outside the giant stone house Karin was waiting by the entrance, Yuneko had since left and now she stood waiting with the much smaller Namayu. "They're taking forever." Karin complained rubbing her hair in frustration. Truth was she was feeling anxious. She had never really spent much time around summon creatures before, so realising that she was expected to become a summoner to this clan made her nervous, she wanted to make a good impression.

Fortunately she didn't have to wait any longer, Naruto appeared from the entrance, looking rather thoughtful, he certainly wasn't his usual bubbly self. "Looks like it's your turn, good luck." he said halfheartedly.

Karin looked to the Namayu for confirmation. "Yes you may enter now." The cat said ushering Konan inside. He reappeared a few moments later and walked over to Naruto. "I trust your talk was enlightening?"

Naruto shrugged in response. "It was something, hard to know what to make of it for sure though."

"Is that so? Well follow me, I have been entrusted with the task of showing you to where you will be staying. That girl will be awhile, she needs to sign the Leopard contract as well." Namayu said candidly and just stalked off expecting the blond to follow.

Meanwhile Karin was approaching the large pedestal where the snow leopard elder was lounging. "Uh um hello." She said tentatively.

"Ah young lady, at last we meet. Come closer so I can get a good look at you." The old leopard said in his croaky voice.

Karin complied somewhat hesitantly. "Were you expecting me?" she asked slightly confused.

"Oh of course child. We of the Snow Leopard clan have never had a summoner before, the last person capable... Did not have the required personal traits that we look for." The elder said with a minor reflective scowl, as if he was thinking of a bad memory.

"But I have these traits you desire?" Karin asked skeptical that she had anything special.

"Yes, you're determined and loyal, yet you crave independence." The old feline said confidently.

"That doesn't really sound all that much like me, Naruto maybe, but not me." She replied honestly.

"It's true, that young man has such qualities in spades. But he has a powerful summoning contract already, and we Snow Leopards are a possessive type, we do not like to share. Perhaps these qualities we seek are a trait of your family." The elder mused.

"Family? What are you talking about, we're not related. We came from completely different parts of the Elemental Nations." She said with some finality.

"You are not directly related no, but your chakra share traits of a clan, I am sure distantly you came from the same group of humans." The leopard replied.

Karin didn't like the idea that she might be related to Naruto, although she had no idea why. The thought just seemed wrong to her. "You're mistaken, there is nothing similar about our chakra. His is bright and powerful like the sun, nothing like my own."

"So you have learned to see, but not to feel. The way you see his chakra is a personal reference to the type of man he is, not where he came from. The feel of chakra determines family bonds, and to the highly trained can give a look into someones past. The feel of your chakra and the young sage is similar, you are from the same clan of that I am sure. That is why you, who have been abandoned many times before feel drawn to him." The elder said lazily.

Karin still couldn't accept this, they were so different, besides she was an orphan from Kusa, Naruto was the son of the Yondaime Hokage and a prominent member of the Uzumaki clan. '_That had many branch families that have scattered all over the Elemental Nations, even before the destruction of Uzu._' A small voice spoke in the back of her head, that she tried her best to ignore.

"Could it be that you are worried about your compatibility with that boy?" The leopard asked, the smallest glint in his eyes appearing.

Karin's face burned red. "Of course not, he may be kind, and he has saved my life... What I mean is, he's an idiot! Like I would fall for someone like him." She said, flatly denying his accusation.

"I see, regardless the truth is you are no closer related to him by blood than a man from a different clan. After all a clan is a group of families that share traits and experiences. That's why clan members mate with other clan members all the time." The old leopard replied with a smirk.

'_He's right, during the clan wars most marriages were solely within clans, it was how they kept their bloodlines strong and if any family did marry out of it the new extended family would become part of the clan. Even today some clans mostly marry between branch families to protect Kekkei Genkai, like those Hyuuga from Konoha._' She realised. Without even catching onto the fact that she was feeling a whole lot better. "I told you I don't like him, so why are you telling me this?" she asked half angrily. Her angered expression softened however to an almost sad one. "Besides, he wouldn't see anything in me anyway, I just get in the way and slow him down."

The old leopards eyes narrowed in thought. '_That is not true, he is strong that one. But even the strongest people need someone to confide in. He needs you, more than you know._' "The young sage is important to this world, but not even that young man can do everything on his own, remember that."

"I'll do my best." Karin replied.

"Now that the pleasantries are out of the way, it's time to ask, are you prepared to sign the Snow Leopard contract?"

"I do, it's really an honour. I can't thank you enough for the opportunity."

The snow leopard elder smiled, quickly pressing his paws together before placing them on the ground summoning a giant scroll. The scroll opened up in front of Karin enough to see the first part of the scroll was blank. "You need to mark your fingertips, and write your name in blood." he instructed. Karin slowly did as she was told, lightly cutting her thumb and dipping each finger in the blood before placing them atop the exposed section of scroll. "Good now write your full name in blood underneath."

"Full name, but I don't have a family name." Karin replied.

"I already told you that you do, you have to accept that fate. Now write your name, and become our first summoner." The elder spoke firmly.

Karin wrote the first part of her name then hesitated. She sent a questioning gaze to the old feline but he was just intently watching the scroll. Letting out a loud sigh she slowly wrote down Uzumaki. "There that's it right?" she asked calmly.

"Yes congratulations, you will still need to learn how to perform a summoning, but that can be learned in time. I am sure that the young sage can teach you the process required." The elder leopard said somewhat disinterested all of a sudden.

"Is there anything else you need me to do?" Karin asked.

"No, for now you must continue your journey. I do hope you enjoy the rest of your stay here. Namayu will be waiting outside to escort you to your accommodation... Before you go remember, you are now an ambassador of our clan, your actions will reflect on us, keep that in mind" The elder said firmly.

"I will. Thank you again Elder-sama." Karin said with a bow before turning to leave.

"Farewell Karin Uzumaki, I am sure we will meet again." The old leopard said under his breath not even loud enough for the kunoichi to hear.

(**Konoha**)

Tsunade stood in the centre of a cold sterile room, on either side of her were two bodies that lay perfectly still, they were so tranquil that at first glance it appeared that they were only sleeping. Tsunade had a clipboard in her hand and an angry scowl on her face. The report she had read on the two fallen shinobi was by her standards sub par. While all the standard tests were done, bloodm and chakra type, they were less thorough than she, Shizune, or even Sakura could perform. She had been in that morgue for hours redoing so many of the tests that should have been done the first time.

"This is making no sense at all, I need something that will give me a proper answer, there are too many conflicts, one report test says it is Naruto but much of the physical evidence is inconclusive. Also there is not even a single trace of the seal, or the Kyuubi's chakra. That leads me to believe that this cant be Naruto. Also this wound, it's all wrong. Judging by Sasuke's body shape and height he did not cause this injury."

"Then who did?" Tsunade spun around to see Kakashi standing there in full Hokage robes including the hat.

"Based on the facts and evidence, then I believe that it was Naruto." Tsunade replied.

"He committed Seppuku? I refuse to believe that. He would never do something like that." Kakashi said with complete certainty.

"I agree, but the injury caused by Sasuke's blade that conducts chakra was coated in Fuuton chakra of high potency, like Naruto's. Also the height and strength requirements suggest it had to have come from Naruto." Tsunade replied.

"How can you tell, if he killed himself most of his strength wouldn't show, it's not possible to srike yourself with all of your strength." Kakashi reasoned.

"Which is why I don't think this is Naruto at all. The only way for this death to be possible, was if Naruto had killed himself using a clone. That is physically impossible. All clones dispel regardless of their type if the main body comes under intense stress. I don't know what this thing is, but it's not Naruto." The Godaime declared.

"Do you remember during the war when the Zetsu clones attempted to assassinate the medical teams. They were able to clone someone so perfectly that everything matched right down to the tiniest degree. This could be nothing but a Zetsu clone, I have had this thought for some time. The question is, how did Naruto get his hands on one? Not to mention get Zetsu to listen to his orders." Kakashi replied.

"I read the reports of what happened in the war after I lost consciousness. Once Madara and Obito were defeated all the remaining Zetsu clones lost all consciousness and were eliminated. Perhaps they were willing to react to Naruto but nobody else?" Tsunade theorised.

"It is possible, but how could we know for sure. It's also possible that both Sasuke and Naruto were able to fake their deaths in this way if they decided to do this together." Kakashi mused.

"That may be the case, but I don't think so. If Sasuke was working with Naruto he would have been the one to strike the blow, it would make no sense for him to kill himself if Sasuke was there to make it look more believable." Tsunade reasoned.

"Unless of course Sasuke was in such a state that it was impossible for him to do the job. We saw the place where they had been fighting, it was a barren wasteland after they were finished." Kakashi proposed.

"Well then I guess there is only one way to find out." Tsunade said and quickly removed a small piece of muscle tissue from each of the bodies.

"What are you doing?" Kakashi asked.

"I am going to check for my Grandfathers DNA, or traces of his chakra, as opposed to trying to prove that it's Naruto. That's all the Zetsu clones were, constructs of my fathers genetic structure. Even if they copy Naruto perfectly, underneath everything if you look deep enough, a fake will show it's true colours." Tsunade spoke as she began running various tests with the tissue samples she had removed. "Now all we have to do is wait." She said. Now that she had something specific to look for she was so confident that she could prove that the blond laying on the operating table wasn't Naruto.

"How long will it take?" Kakashi asked.

"Only a few minutes, you may want to stick around, this is it, I can feel it." Tsunade answered with a confident smirk.

The minutes passed away in silence as both ninja waited with baited breath. Suddenly a sheet of paper appeared, printing out the results of the tests through the use of seals. Tsunade slowly approached the sheet and began reading. About half way through her expression fell. "No luck?" Kakashi guessed feeling slightly gutted.

Tsunade scrunched up the paper, her monstrous strength grinding it into a pulp in her grip as her face turned to one of anger. "That little bastard, when I get my hands on him he is going to wish he really was dead." she said her face transforming once more into a triumphant smirk. "He's alive!" she declared.

Kakashi let out one of his famous eye smiles. "Thank goodness, I'm so glad that my beloved student is still alive." he said with a smile.

"But I am afraid to say, that this is indeed the body of Sasuke Uchiha. I'm sorry Kakashi." Tsunade said with some sympathy. Despite the fact Sasuke had fallen so far she new the loss hurt. she felt something similar when Orochimaru had been reported to have died. The fact was she hated the Snake Sannin, yet it was still upsetting to hear he had died.

"It's alright Tsunade-sama. I knew it was a long shot, but it always hurts to hear that your student has died. Minato-sensei, Jiraiya-sama, both experienced this, I guess we just can't compare with Hiruzen-sama to raise three shinobi that all outlived him." Kakashi sighed.

"So what are your orders Hokage-sama, what do we do with this information?" Tsunade asked.

"We do nothing. Naruto had his reasons for leaving, of that I am certain. I need to believe in his choice, so we will hide this information as an S class secret." Kakashi answered calmly.

"Are you sure? He's out there all alone, everyone in the elemental Nations have heard of his name by now, most of them will know his face, he can't even henge those whisker marks of his. Let me go find him, at least so he knows that he will always have a home here in Konoha." Tsunade said with a steely determination.

"As far as I am concerned I have no right to order you to stay, you are my superior as Godaime Hokage. I will accept your request, but I must ask that you stay until after we hold a funeral for this Naruto. I believe he will return one day, but until that day comes we have to keep this secret from everyone, nobody else can know that he is still alive. After the funeral I will come up with a mission that you can undertake, that will have no set amount of time to complete. Actually I already have the perfect one. All I have to do is call a team back from the field and give you their mission." Kakashi said quickly coming up with a plan.

"It means Naruto will have a few more days to get away from me, but I accept. Call the team in field back, they will need to give me a proper report if I am believably going to take their mission from them." Tsunade suggested.

Kakashi nodded and made for the exit to the morgue before pausing. "I will go to my office at once and send out the messenger hawk. Remember to tell Naruto I will be waiting for his return, I'll even save an Anbu mask for him if he want's to keep his identity hidden. What do you think he would prefer, Gama or Kitsune?"

"Maybe you should hold onto both and let him decide. If it was me I would give him a parasite mask as punishment for leaving." Tsunade replied with a short laugh.

"Just be sure to find him then. Oh and do try to at least act sad during the funeral." Kakashi said, and with that he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

'_A shadow clone?_' "Dammit Kakashi if you let me catch you using clones to talk to me again, I will kill you!" She yelled loudly enough that the whole village could hear.

Kakashi sat in his office and a sweat drop formed as he had taken out a form to have the group sent after Karin returned. '_Maybe I should have waited until I was out of the room to do that._' he thought with a little worry.

(**Underground Cave**)

"Hear we are, your quarters for your time here in our village." Namayu said with a slight bow. They were about half way up the side of the massive hall containing the homes of the leopard clan. It was approaching dusk and the felines were becoming more active as the night approached. Several cubs were mock fighting down below and several of the larger summons were heading outside to keep watch over the mountains during the night.

"Thank you Namayu, I am sure it will be wonderful. It can't be any worse than our cold tent." Karin replied.

"I hope you are satisfied. Elder-sama has also told me to inform you that your accommodation has a private hot spring for you to bath at your convenience." The leopard spoke with a bow.

Karin nodded, bid farewell to the summons and turned to face her temporary lodgings. There was no door, but a thick curtain with a slit in the middle gave privacy from those outside. She wondered for a moment whether or not she could trust the Snow Leopards to grant her that privacy, but in the end she decided that they wouldn't do anything to upset their new summoner.

Pushing through the folds in the curtain she came into a lovely room, while it still looked like a cave, it had certain homely touches that couldn't be ignored, like a raging fire pit ready to cook her food, and best of all in Karin's opinion was a large double bed with luxurious looking blankets and soft pillows. '_It's been such a long day I am going to go have a bath and jump right into that bed, dinner can wait, Naruto has all the food anyway_.' she thought blissfully. Her thoughts lingered on Naruto as she got undressed. "Kami what am I supposed to tell him. 'Guess what I found out we are from the same clan? Impossible.'" '_Well he's from the main house of the Uzumaki clan that were cousins to the Senju clan, he's more closely related to Tsunade of the Sannin than he is to me, even if we do share a last name._' That thought made her smile a bit, truth was she liked the fact she had a connection with Naruto. She sighed happily "Still I wonder where he's staying?" she asked herself as she pushed passed another curtain and into the bathroom wrapped up in her towl.

What she wasn't expecting was an answer. "Where who's staying?" a small voice asked, coming from the waters edge.

Karin froze as her eyes slowly glided to the source of the new voice. There sat a small yellow toad with a very inquisitive look on it's face. What was worse there was Naruto sitting in the water red faced and doing his best not to look... although he was failing magnificently, and another dark orange toad. "Yo Boss, I didn't know you did stuff like this? I thought it was Jiraiya-sama that was into peaking on women and that sort of stuff." Gamakichi said questioningly.

At the time it was probably the worst thing in the world that the toad could have said. "You think it's funny sneaking into my bath Naruto?" she asked with fire in her eyes.

"I didn't I swear, this is where I am staying." Naruto pleaded, making an extra effort to avoid staring at her ample exposed cleavage and the incredibly short length the towl covered of her legs.

"Namayu said this was my apartment during my stay, so that makes this my bath, now get out!" Karin ordered.

"Uh, he said the same thing to me. Maybe they expect us to share?" Naruto replied.

Karin froze half ready to beat the blond half to death. '_That's true, beside I have no reason not to trust Naruto._' she thought. Then something else came to her mind. "B-b-but there is only one bed." she stammered, her face going red with the implication, sure it was big enough for two people but if Naruto was telling the truth then the Snow Leopards had prepared the room for a couple rather than two singles.

Naruto's eyes widened slightly, his mind winding up in the same place, firmly in the gutter. Face rapidly reddening her waved his hands defensively in front of his face. "It's alright I can sleep on the floor, you can have the bed, they're your summons so you take priority." He said silently wondering if he was starting to become more like Jiraiya as he couldn't help but hope that some force of nature would cause her towel to drop.

Karin felt slightly disappointed at this. '_What am I thinking, do I actually want him to share the bed with me? No I am just feeling guilty for making him sleep on the floor. Get over it Karin, he's just a kind hearted idiot, nothing more.'_ she thought. "I guess that will work. Since you're already in the bath I guess I can wait. Just don't take to long!" she said in a bossy attitude before leaving in a huff. Once she was out of sight she took off in a blur running around to collect all of her clothes she had mindlessly discarded while undressing.

"So Boss, who's the girl? Fukusaku-sama told Tou-san that you were traveling alone." Gamakichi asked, swelling from a small toad that would fit into Naruto's hands all the way into one twice the size of the blond.

"Ya, She's pretty, but a little scary. Still I like her better than the pink haired one, she at least waits for an explanation before attempting to hurt you." Gamatatsu said nodding in agreement.

Naruto laughed at the toad's description of Sakura. "You better not let Sakura-chan hear you say that. To answer your question that is Karin, I met her awhile ago, she was even more desperate to get out the the Elemental Nations than I was, so she's tagging along with me. She may not have seemed it there, but she's actually really nice." '_And kind of cute too._'

'**Dammit Naruto, don't make me give you a talk on teenage hormones. At your age any half naked women would be 'Kind of cute'.**' Kurama scowled.

'_Ah leave me alone Kurama. I know you don't like her, but why not at least give her a chance?_' the blond replied.

The giant fox just huffed in reply. '**I'll think about it.**'

"Well I better get out, I have been soaking in here for awhile and I don't want to end up like all wrinkly like a prune. Next time I'm somewhere warm I'll summon you both again, it was great seeing you guys." Naruto said while standing up out of the water and wading to the edge.

"Yeah catch ya round Boss." Gamakichi said before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Next time can you have some snacks?" Gamatatsu questioned.

"I'll do my best." Naruto replied with a laugh.

"Okay, bye Boss, Bye pretty lady!" Gamatatsu said with a wave before he too disappeared.

On the other side of the curtain Karin almost had a heart attack. '_That toad saw me._' she gasped. She was going to barge in and demand to know how long Naruto was going to be but when she saw him slowly stand up out of the water from the crack in the curtain she stopped to enjoy the show. '_Dammit my heart is beating so quickly... oh shit he's coming out I need to relax._' she told herself quickly running over to the bed to distance herself from the bathroom.

"Hey Karin, you can have the bath now." Naruto said appearing from the other room. He had on his ninja pants but his top was thrown over one shoulder, with his seal clearly visible on his navel. Unconsciously Karin licked her lips, something that didn't go unnoticed by the blond. "Are you hungry? If you wan't I can prepare something to eat, the Snow Leopards gave us some meat so we can eat well for a few days again." He asked clearly as clueless as ever.

The question awoke Karin from her stupor. "Huh, yeah sure. make anything you want." she said in a tone that was a little too close to the one she used to talk to Sasuke with for her liking. "If you peak on me you're dead." she said quickly before running off to take a bath and hopefully cool off.

**End Chapter!**

**Madara had some serious date rape face when he felt Hashirama's chakra, I fear for the poor Shodai's chastity. still I am half guessing that we will have three chapters before they arrive and splitting Madara and Obito up again will basically lead to yet another scene change. He needs someone to start playing that wrap it up music they have at award shows when people have been talking for too long. **


	16. Conflicting Feelings

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 16: Conflicting Feelings**

"So do you guys see anything?" Kiba asked as he sat atop Akamaru looking over the scorched landscape and giant craters that littered the land where Naruto and Sasuke had fought to the death.

"It's difficult to tell. The Byakugan may be an impressive Dojutsu, but it's night vision is still somewhat limited. Perhaps we should make camp and resume our search in the morning?" Neji suggested.

"A sound plan, we should also check the location that Naruto's body was found, if our target came this way, then that would be her likely destination." Shino reasoned logically.

"I would agree, but I think you will find the sight that Naruto's body was found has been disturbed by more than a few people since our target would have left. We will set up camp here, I need to send a message to Kakashi-sama informing him of our current status." Sai said passively.

"How are you going to report to Kakashi-sama from all the way out here? It would take a day even for a messenger hawk to reach Konoha." Kiba asked.

"My ninjutsu uses ink, my messenger birds can travel great distances in much shorter of a time than the normal hawks. Kakashi-sama will have the report within a few hours. So we should have a reply by tomorrow." Sai answered expressionlessly.

"Man that's a useful technique." Kiba said, clearly impressed with the stoic ninja's abilities.

"That is why Danzo-sama used to send me as a spy into enemy teritory, any information I could find would be sent as quickly as possible and my ink creatures cannot be captured like messenger hawks, they simply disperse if they're prevented from reaching their destination." Sai said in a matter of fact tone.

"Yes I see how that could be an advantage, it would stop a large chance of miss information or counter intelligence." Shino said with an approving nod. "Now would it be to much trouble to help set up the camp, we have much to prepare and it's already dark." The Aburame clan heir added. The two nodded in agreement and Akamaru barked his approval as they began setting up the tents and gathering wood for a fire.

A short distance away Hinata and Neji stood with their Byakugan activated looking over the wasteland before them. "It must have been quite an amazing battle, look at the damage they caused." Hinata said in awed reverence.

"Indeed, it is a shame I will never get the chance to have a rematch with Naruto. Although I fear the result would be no different to the last time we fought." Neji replied.

"Neji-Niisan, do you think we will find Karin?" The kunoichi asked slightly timidly.

"I am afraid that I do not think we will. It has been a long time so she will not be around this area anymore. Also Kakashi-sama cannot put off Naruto's funeral much longer, we will be recalled and a Anbu team designed for long term missions will be sent out in our place. That is standard procedure for this type of threat. My guess would be she has fled to a non iffiliated village to seek refuge, if that is the case it will not take long to find her, the reward offered and threat of antagonising the five great shinobi villages will be too great." Neji answered calmly.

"I see." Hinata sighed sadly.

"Is something wrong Hinata-sama?" Neji asked.

"You don't need to call me that Nii-san, just Hinata is fine. To be honest I wanted to be the one that caught Karin, that way I could do something to make sure Naruto can rest in peace." Hinata explained while slightly downhearted.

(**Meanwhile**)

Naruto was most certainly not resting in peace, in fact he was finding it nigh impossible to get comfortable. The large cave he was staying in was so warm that the thermal sleepwear and sleeping bag he brought with him felt like an oven. And it didn't help that he was sleeping on a thin futon on a solid stone floor. Normally he wouldn't mind to much, but less than three feet away Karin lay quite contently on one of the most luxurious looking beds the blond had ever seen. Letting out a sigh Naruto kicked out of his sleeping bag and slowly made it to his feet.

He stretched out cracking his joints that were sore from laying on the hard ground before heading for the exit. He had just made it to the thick curtain when he felt Karin move around behind him. "Where are you going?" she asked through half lidded eyes that were lacking her usual glasses.

"I just thought I would go for a walk, you know have a look around. We didn't really see much on our way in, besides I thought it would be cool to meet some of the Snow Leopard clan." Naruto half lied, he didn't want to tell her that he couldn't get comfortable because it was too hot and the ground was so hard his sleeping bag was about as useful as a piece of cardboard.

"Oh how long will you be?" she asked.

"I don't know, probably not long, you can go back to sleep."

"I can't sleep, I have... something on my mind, it's really annoying, and kind of stupid, but I just can't stop thinking about it."

"Well you can come have a look around with me if you want, it might be fun, we could go meet some of your new partners together, you will want to befriend them if you're going to fighting together." Naruto reasoned.

Karin shook her head weakly. "No I think that would just make things worse at the moment. Thanks anyway." '_Maybe time away from you will help me clear my head, that damn elder leopard has made me all confused, I shouldn't be thinking about Naruto, he's a friend and nothing more. Hell he's probably not even a friend, we're just traveling together._' she told herself for what was the hundredth time that night.

Naruto's smile faltered for just a second. "Oh well, I guess I'll see you when you I get back if you're still awake." she said before pushing through the curtains and out into the giant open cave that rose high up the inside of the mountain.

'**You're getting attached to her.**' Kurama said flatly.

'_I don't know what you're talking about._' Naruto flatly denied the fox's assumption.

Kurama scoffed at his jinchuuriki. '**You think you can lie to me Naruto? I know you were upset that she didn't want to come for a walk with you.**'

'_I just thought she should meet some of her summons, it would be better if she was around as she's not really an outsider like I am. That's all!_' He told himself, as well as the fox.

'**If that is what you wish to tell yourself then fine, I am not going to argue.**' Kurama replied.

'_Oh what do you know anyway_.' Naruto scoffed halfheartedly, he knew that when it came to being an empath there was no better being than Kurama.

'**She has been in a state of confusion since coming back from that old cat, I don't like it. Her emotions are unstable, like she's fighting with herself over something, she may be planning on betraying you.**' The fox informed the blond.

'_He's a leopard, and he left me confused as well, I don't see it as a big deal_.' Naruto answered.

'**Betrayal hurts more when it is done by someone you trust, the more faith you place in an individual the more it hurts if they turn on you**.' Kurama spoke.

'_That's a very lonely way of looking at the world Kurama, you trusted me and we became friends, before that you were all alone, which one do you prefer?_'

'**You are... different, we both know that. Regardless as per your insistance I am willing to give the girl a chance. I just hope you don't regret it, and maybe restrict the time you spend ogling her in the future.**'

Naruto's face heated up and turned scarlet. '_I didn't do that, she walked in on me in the bath, it's not my fault. Still she is quite pretty, and I am a male-_'

_'_**You are sounding like your perverted hermit sensei.**' Kurama said with a smirk.

'_I am not like Ero-sennin, it's just hard not to notice something like that when she walks in covered only in a towel._'

'**Careful Naruto, your mind is wondering.**' The fox teased.

'_This conversation is over!_' Naruto declared before shutting off their communication link. '_Still I wonder what Karin really thinks about me?_' he thought to himself before shaking his head clear. "What am I thinking, my head is just clouded because I almost saw her naked, thats all." he told himself out loud as he casually walked down towards the base of the cave, following a large circular path that spiralled around the edges of the cave leading to the base level where most of the leopards had gathered below, like most felines the snow leopards were mostly nocturnal so they were far more active now than they were when Yuneko had carried them in.

Naruto arrived at the base of the path and we greeted by Namayu, the snow leopard that naruto assumed was working as the elders assistant. "Ah young sage, what brings you here, are your accommodations not to your liking?"

"No... Well now that you mention it, we only have one bed, and the floor is rather hard." Naruto admitted somewhat tentatively.

"Is the bed not big enough for the two of you? I was under the impression that human mates shared a bedchamber together." Namayu queried.

Naruto's face burned red with what the leopard was insinuating. "We're not like that. Karin is just a friend, not a girlfriend, and certainly not a mate." He attempted to explain as quickly as he could to clear up any misconception that the large cat may have had.

"I see, do you not find Karin attractive?" Namayu asked in an emotionless tone.

Naruto paused for a moment. "Well I guess I find her attractive, she's pretty, even with her glasses, and that crazy hair. But that's not the issue, we're not dating or anything like that."

"I see, I do not understand the concept of dating, but if I am to understand you correctly, you are traveling all alone with Karin yet have no desire to mate with her? Humans are indeed strange creatures." Namayu mused.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck trying to get his head around what the leopard had meant. "Well I guess that's an accurate assumption. Although personally I think you're the weird one, we're just friends nothing else."

"Perhaps that is so, we do have different value systems to those of humans after all. We respect strength and commitment. Which is why our determination to protect these mountains from intruders is unrivalled only once were we ever bested. But you humans, cherish bonds between others. You travel with and protect Karin, even though she is not your mate, I fail to see the purpose in that. If it not to protect the one you desire to carry your cubs, why risk your life?" The snow leopard asked.

"Because she is a comrade and I would never let a comrade die if I could help it. Plus she is a friend I would be... sad if anything happened to her." Naruto tried to explain.

"I see, so there are emotional bonds that can be formed outside family interest, you humans are rather interesting. I am afraid we do not have another cave prepared for you to use during your stay, but I am sorry that I have misread the status of your relationship with our summoner and I apologise for the inconvenience. I will see that a new room is prepared for you." Namayu said with a bow.

"Nah it's alright, really I was just being fussy because I was sleeping on the floor." Naruto explained.

"I see. If I may ask, as your relationship status with Karin is one of friendship, would it not be possible to share the bed we have provided." The leopard questioned.

"Well I guess we could, but it's probably not a very good idea, besides it seems rather intimate to share a bed with a girl." Naruto answered with a slight pink hue on his cheeks.

"I do not fully understand, but I will accept your premise. I will prepare a separate room for you tomorrow should you decide to stay another night. Thank you for your time young sage."

"It's Naruto."

"Pardon?"

"My name, it's Naruto. I figure you seem friendly enough, even if you are kind of odd. So call me by my real name okay?"

"Very well, a pleasure to be granted this honour... Naruto." Namayu said with a bow of his front legs before stalking off.

'_That was rather embarrassing, and now I am more awake than ever. Maybe I'll go do some training, I'll wear myself out, then I can just fall asleep out of exhaustion._' Naruto thought. He moved into the centre of the cave and placed his hands in a very familiar hand position. The next second close to one hundred identical clones of the blond had appeared. "Alright a quarter of you run through my Toad style katas, half work on some Fuuton manipulation, while the rest of you, I want to spar with." Naruto said removing his top due to the heat.

The group of clones split up effortlessly and each took to their assigned task. Naruto had to react quickly as three clones shot at him as the original he was slightly faster and stronger but one against twenty five was not going to be an easy task. Off to the side many of the leopards gathered around to watch the rather unique show, it was not often that they saw a human, not to mention one that would create copies of himself to fight with.

Naruto ducked and weaved in between strikes, his reaction time from fighting with Kurama had improved greatly, but he was still taking a few hits from his clones, simply because they outnumbered him so heavily. But because they were in essence him, he could see their strategy early enough, one group would rush in and attack at key area's while another group would sit back and look for an opening should the initial attack be thwarted.

Deciding to go for the attack Naruto slipped through the first attack and intentionally made what would appear to be an opening for the second wave to attack, however the moment they came in the real Naruto used his superior speed to dispel several of the clones. Instantly the clones gave up that strategy and decided to adopt another one, a sophisticated plan often referred to as a 'bum rush', all clones diverged on the real Naruto as one.

High up above Karin was still having no luck getting to sleep, she had hoped that Naruto leaving the room would let her clear her mind of thoughts of the blond, yet it had not worked out that way. She soon found herself somewhat anxious that he would leave her here and make his way north on his own. '_His bag is still here, he wouldn't leave without it... right?_' She told herself.

She rolled over onto her back and let out a frustrated and annoyed yell. "Dammit what the hell is wrong with me." A loud explosion from outside jumped her back to her senses. '_What was that? What if the snow leopards are attacking Naruto-kun?_' she thought suddenly. Quick as a flash she was out of bed and pushing through the curtains out into the giant cave. What she saw made her stop dead in her tracks. She let out a breath that she didn't know she had been holding when she saw that Naruto wasn't being attacked, at least not by the summons. But down below there were so many of him she had no idea which was the real one. "Amazing, they're all shadow clones, he must be using them to train, that's ingenious." she realised.

When she located the real Naruto he was being chased by a group of close to twenty clones, avoiding a few strikes before throwing one of his own, often the clones who knew his movements perfectly would use that moment to mount a stronger attack of their own. Karin was mesmerised and sat on the edge of the path to get a good seat to watch the show.

She soon found herself engrossed in every detail of his spar, the way he would anticipate and read even the most subtle of movement, almost like Sasuke with his Sharingan, sure they were clones of himself so he would have an advantage but to register a that level of anticipation was still impressive. His style was certainly far more direct and rougher than Sasuke, he fought more like Juugo, but even so not one move was wasted, the directness made it look like there were openings where there were none.

Naruto ducked under a round house kick from one of his clones and through a punch of his own, hoping to hit the planting leg, all he needed to do was strike a clone once to dispel them. His fist came within a fingernail's length from striking before his target was yanked away by two other clones, with several more converging on him from almost every side. Naruto knew it was a trap but at this stage he had no other option, he fell back in the direction they were forcing him.

Moving with all the skill of a master tactician the clones continued to shepherd Naruto in the direction of their choosing, the blond noting that every so often one of the clones would break away. This continued for close to a minute until naruto found himself perfeclty surrounded by his own clones, each holding a kunai, without giving him time to think all the clones tossed their blades in one swift motion.

Karin's heart stopped as the kunai all punctured the blond from every angle. She let out a breathless scream, her voice lost in her throat. Suddenly the naruto that appeared to be bleeding popped out of existence indicating it was a clone.

"Huh when?" one of the clones asked.

"When you tossed those kunai." Naruto replied where one of the supposed clones were standing. He had substituted himself with a clone at the last second. Not wanting to give his copies a chance to regroup Naruto took advantage of the fact they were currently all separated and quickly took the clones apart. Running to the left planting a knee into the closest clones face while at the same time sending several kunai to those standing at the opposite side, each having yet to register just what was going on.

By the time they had figured it out it was too late, Naruto had decimated their numbers leaving only two remaining, while they put up a valiant resistance they were nothing compared to the real Naruto and he soon had them both dispelled.

High above karin was clutching at he chest with a small tear of joy running down her face. "Thank kami he's safe." she said, as she looked down at the blonds satisfied smirk and bare chest she felt her face warm considerably. '_Oh no... I like Naruto-kun._' she realised, she was both thrilled and horrified at the thought, the revelation had sent her heart racing as she watched him. '_But what will he think of me, I am nothing. It wasn't all that long ago that I would have killed him without second thought if Sasuke had wanted me to. I am so messed up, what am I supposed to do now._' she thought tucking her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around them, all the while her eyes followed the blond as he began to do one armed push ups. '_I can't tell him, at least not yet. I haven't known him long enough. He will think I am weird, besides I don't deserve his love anyway. But at least I can watch him for real now, and one day he might feel something for me too._'

Naruto ran through a rather intense training schedule, he wanted to be so tired that he would drop the moment his head hit the pillow. Every so often he would dispel one or two of his clones to amass the fatigue they had accumulated in their training but he had been used to using many more when he was training to learn his Fuuton manipulation and the Rasenshuriken.

Karin just sat high above and watched for the next hour as the blond pushed himself harder. Even from her lofty perch she could see the strained look on his face, the sweat rolling off his torso and down his arms was quite noticeable. '_He's down to his last few clones, I wonder if he will be finished soon?_' She wondered, a new found anxiety crept its way into her chest. '_I hope he hasn't noticed that I have been watching him._'

After a few more minutes the last of Naruto's clones had dispelled and he stood alone in the large clearing. The snow leopards for the most part had given him a wide birth, a few had watched his unique method of training himself, but none of them had moved close enough to warrant interaction with the young jinchuuriki. "That should probably do it, it's been months since I have been able to train properly like that." He sighed happily to himself.

His mission was accomplished, Naruto felt both mentally and physically drained from his exertions while no way near as bad as after his fights with the likes of Nagato, Madara, and Sasuke, he was confident that once he took another dip in the hot spring bath he would easily be able to fall asleep on the floor.

Wearily he trudged back up the circular path leading to the cave he was sharing with Karin, his feet somewhat dragging behind his body. He pushed passed the curtain and into the homely cave with an audible yawn and silently made his way to the bath, careful not to make a noise that might wake Karin.

Little did he know she was awake the entire time, she had stayed up hoping to greet the blond as he returned but a small anxiety attack had caused her to fake sleep when the entrance to the small living area began to move. '_What am I doing, I can at least talk to him. We still have such a long way to travel together, I need to calm down._' she told herself, sitting back up in the bed once Naruto had well and truly passed into the bathroom.

She sat up in silence, knowing that Naruto would be having a bath after training so hard. The thought was comforting to Karin as it gave her ample time to prepare, she constantly told herself to act normal. When she had been crushing on Sasuke she made no attempt to hide how she felt, but this was different. It would complicate things if she threw herself at Naruto and he rejected her.

Around fifteen minutes later Naruto reappeared wearing only a pair of orange boxers with small toads printed on them. Both teens froze when they saw each other. Naruto quickly wrapping a towel around his mid section and Karin silently thankful it was so dark and he couldn't see the massive blush that had spread across her face.

"Sorry, I thought you were asleep." Naruto apologised.

"No it's alright I should have said something when you came back." Karin said equally apologetic.

Naruto nodded and quickly deposited himself into his sleeping bag to avoid any more awkwardness. "That's the second time that's happened tonight." He chuckled lightly hoping that by livening the mood he could escape any backlash.

"Yeah, but I guess that's what happens when you're living together with someone, mistakes happen." Karin replied.

Naruto was surprised she was somewhat forgiving, Sakura would have never let him off so easily. "Well after tonight it won't happen again, at least not during our stay here."

"Huh, how can you be so sure?" Karin asked in a slightly teasing manner, which she silently berated herself for a second later.

"Well I went out for a walk because this floor is so uncomfortable to sleep on and I ran into that leopard Namayu. I told him that we needed another bed, and he agreed to organise another apartment for me in the morning, I figured we could stay here a few days and revitalise before moving on." Naruto explained.

Karin's face fell slightly. "Is the floor really that uncomfortable?" she asked weakly.

"Yeah, when we were camping outside the snow and soft ground created a decent barrier but this floor is solid stone. I ended up training so I would be exhausted enough to not worry about it and get to sleep." Naruto laughed. "Kind of stupid huh?"

"If it's that bad why didn't you tell me?" Karin asked.

"Well I guess I didn't want you to feel guilty about taking the bed, I am not even sure why I am telling you now. Maybe because I am so tired now." He answered.

"You um, you can share the bed with me. It's only for one night so I don't mind." She said gulping nervously. She was trying desperately to keep any hint of longing out of her voice and to remain calm.

Naruto sat up slowly from his place on the floor. "Are you sure? I mean you aren't worried that I would do something perverted?"

Karin blushed but shook off the thoughts quickly. "No I think I can trust you. It's only for one night so I think I can stand sleeping beside you." she said, shuffling over to one side of the bed and folding back the covers. "I don't mind, besides it can't be good to sleep like that even if you are really tired." she said silently praying that he would take up her offer. '_Still I wish I was wearing something a little more revealing than a baggy top and sweat pants. Oh this is killing me, maybe I can make him fall for me._' she thought hopefully before shaking herself to her senses. '_I can't think about that stuff with him, I need to behave._'

"I guess so. Give me a second." Naruto said and quickly pulled on a plain white Tee shirt and some track pants that he had stored in his bag. Sliding into the bed it felt like his back had found heaven, it had been so long since he had lain on anything so comfortable, almost immediately he began to feel the fatigue catching up with him. "Thank's Karin-chan, goodnight."

"Goodnight... Naruto-kun." She whispered back laying down facing the other way so she could try and calm herself down. Barely two minutes passed before she heard light snoring coming from the blond. '_He must have been really tired, I guess training with that many clones must be exhausting._' she thought rolling over to stare at his peaceful face. '_I wonder?_' she thought and slowly rose a hand in hopes of stroking one of his whisker marks.

She almost had a heart attack when his eyes shot open. But they were not the Azure blue that she remembered, no this time his eyes were blood red and slitted, his whisker marks were rapidly widening. "**Do not touch him!**" Naruto's voice was distorted and Karin's eyes widened in fear when she realised just what it was she was now talking to.

"You... You're the Kyu-ubi" she stuttered almost falling out of the bed.

"**Correct.**" Kurama replied firmly.

"How?" Karin asked, she was completely terrified at this point, the last Bijuu she had seen was the Hachibi and it could have easily killed her several hundred times over.

"**Naruto allows me certain freedoms, I simply took control of his body while he's sleeping to protect him. We watch out for each other you see. So if you think I am going to let you harm him then you are sadly mistaken. He may be a trusting and forgiving fool, but I am not. You stink of that foul Uchiha even now. So what do you want? To kill him in revenge for that piece of trash? I won't allow it!**" Kurama said.

"No I wouldn't. I would never hurt Naruto-kun, I swear!" Karin replied desperately.

Kurama's eyes widened. "**You're telling the truth... then this negative emotion I am sensing from you is... Oh I see, how pathetic. You have gone and fallen for him, haven't you? You sad child.**" the fox laughed.

"What don't be ridiculous." Karin denied but the blush on her face was already giving her away.

"**Don't think you can lie to me worm, I am the greatest of the nine, your emotions give you away. But don't worry I won't tell him. This could even prove amusing to me.**" The fox added.

Karin let out a sigh of relief. "Thank you, he can't know. I, I don't deserve his love, not after all the horrible things I have done." she admitted sadly.

"**It seems we are on the same page in that regard. But don't fret girl, I won't share your secret. Watching you suffer in silence will be entertaining to me. Now I have been in control for long enough, and I guess that I'm satisfied Naruto is in no danger.**" Kurama said with a sinister smirk gracing Naruto's features before his eyes closed and his body returned to peaceful sleep.

Karin's heart was racing, she knew one thing, and that was that she did not want to tangle with Naruto's Bijuu again, she could feel the dark aura of it's chakra and knew that should she ever try to harm the sleeping blond in any way it would be the last thing she ever did. Lightly she stretched out and stroked his cheek once, glad that this time there was no surprises from the fox. She let out a sigh and rolled over and waited for sleep to claim her.

**End Chapter!**

**Well another chapter done, I hope you liked it. I would say we have three chapters max left before they make it over the mountains. I know it seems to be going slowly but without the cannon as a guide for people to follow making the story flow with continuity while being easy to follow and with believable characters becomes harder. If I raced through it there would be gaps and character development would suffer.**

**No Manga this week, kind of annyoing considering we missed one two weeks ago. I guess it can't be helped with it being a public holiday in Japan, but still wanted a chapter, even if chances are it would leave me disappointed. **


	17. A Hero's Peace

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 17: A Hero's Peace**

Karin slowly cracked an eye, as she awoke, it was hard to tell what time it really was, no natural light entered the cave where she was staying, just an unnatural glow that seemed to emanate from the walls. She had jumbled thoughts for a few moments slowly putting together where she was. The events of the day quickly flashed through her mind and she smiled contently.

It was that moment she noticed a weight pressing down on her shoulder as she slept on her side. Slowly gazing down she saw Naruto's arm draped lazily over her, he had been rolling around in his sleep. She almost screamed in surprise but caught herself at the last second. '_He must be still asleep._' she realised, and a small smirk crossed her face. Lowering her head back down she slowly readjusted herself, carful not to wake the sleeping jinchuuriki, and moved closer, cuddling in against his chest, and allowed herself to fall back to sleep enjoying the added warmth of the blonde.

It was another half an hour before Naruto began to stir, his eyes fluttered open and immediately he froze in place, Karin was curled up beside him while he had his arm draped over her back. '_Oh shit... if she catches me like this I'm dead._' He thought frantically. Slowly he removed his arm from around the red head and without taking his eyes off her face in fear of being caught he pushed himself back. Rolling out of bed unfortunately losing his balance and landing head first on the stone floor. "I sure hope nobody saw that." He quietly said to himself quickly glancing to Karin to make sure she was still asleep.

Much to Naruto's dismay Karin was staring wide eyed at the blond while struggling to contain her laughter. "Good morning." she greeted her voice cracking from the suppressed outburst.

"Yeah it's not really the best way to start the day is it." Naruto replied sheepishly it was too late to pretend nothing had happened. "So how long have you been awake?" he asked hoping to take the attention off his clumsiness.

"Just from the moment you fell off the bed. And if you ask me that was the perfect way to wake up." She giggled.

"So I guess you saw that huh." Naruto replied laughing himself knowing how stupid he must have looked. "So what do you want to do today... Oh I know, you just signed a summoning contract, we should work on getting you to summon some of the leopards." he added.

"You mean you will help?" Karin asked.

"Sure why not, it's hard to do on your own. It can't be all that different from summoning the toads, I know Baa-chan used the same hand seals to summon Katsuyu so I should be able to help easily enough. At least I hope I can, I mean I did teach Konohamaru the Rasengan and Shadow Clone, so I can't be that bad of a teacher right?" Naruto answered questioningly.

"How would I know? I have no idea how to use either of those jutsu. But I am sure you will do fine." Karin replied while hopping out of bed. "Shall we have some breakfast and get to work then?"

Naruto nodded. "Sure I'll get the fire started again if you want to go take a bath and freshen up for the day."

"Sure I'll be back in a bit. Oh and Naruto-kun... Thank you for helping me." Karin said happily before heading off to the bathroom, she was quite pleased with how her day was going so far.

(**Meanwhile**)

The tracking team from Konoha stood in front of a makeshift shrine made from stone and sand, obviously put together by Gaara. All in front of the site sat bouquets of flowers as well as letters from well wishers each addressed to Naruto.

"What the hell is this? How are we supposed to find anything here now?" Kiba asked as he looked at the area, it looked as though almost every shinobi from all of the nations had been waltzing through the area.

"I told you that we were not likely to find anything here, but if you wish to look for a fresh lead then this would be the best place to start now." Sai said emotionlessly.

"All of the leads will have been destroyed by the sheer number of people that have come here, I cannot see anything that would seem useful from here, let's search the area, perhaps the path she took from this place may hold something of value." Neji suggested. The Hyuuga prodigy removed a map and marked areas for the five shinobi to search individually.

"So we investigate the perimeter, that seems like a logical choice in the situation, however without knowing which direction our target was heading we will have no idea how large of a diameter to create. Nor do we know if our target was here in the first place." Shino said in his usual, flat tone.

"So basically we split up and each search an area... this could take awhile." Kiba sighed he knew that there would be no sent for his nose to follow which would make this that much harder.

"True but we have no other options. This is the best we have have so we should get to work." Sai replied and quickly removed a scroll and a brush with black ink and began creating several small ink creatures before creating a large Ink bird. "I'll search from above while they search below." He stated before jumping atop the large ink bird's back and taking off.

"Sure he get's the easy job while we're stuck labouring around down here." Kiba huffed.

"If I am not mistaken you ride around atop Akamaru more than you ever walk, I don't think you have much of a case to complain about Sai's jutsu." Neji stated flatly as he walked off to search in his selected area.

"It's best we just do what we can, it is important that we at least find something to go on before we are recalled. We can't give up, because I know that he wouldn't." Hinata said, sadly gazing at the memorial set up to honour Naruto.

Kiba smiled. "Yeah, and knowing him he would just stumble upon our target out of sheer luck." Kiba laughed knowing how upset the kunoichi was at the death of the young man that she had loved for such a long time.

"Naruto would also take his job more seriously than any of us. Perhaps that is why he was able to defeat enemies that seemed unbeatable. Regardless it stands to reason that the longer we stand here discussing things the less likely it becomes that we will find anything." Shino said. He too felt sorry for his teammate but he was also a professional who believed that the mission came first so long as his comrades were not in danger.

(**With Naruto**)

The blond and Karin sat face to face on the floor of the giant cave, several of the more intrigued snow leopards were watching the pair with interest but these were mostly cubs. "So when summoning there are three things you need do." Naruto began and quickly bit his thumb to draw a small amount of blood. "The first is a blood offering. The blood reacts with the blood that you signed the contract with otherwise you won't sign anything, unless you have an unusually strong tie to a clan. Ero-sennin was summoned to Myobokuzan as a kid because he attempted summoning without a contract."

"That can happen? I thought reverse summoning needed to be done by the summoned animals and needed different hand seals?" Karin asked in wonder.

"Normally yes, but as I said, Ero-sennin had a unusually strong affiliation with the toads and he summoned himself there by accident. Anyway I am getting off topic. The blood you draw reacts with the blood on the scroll that you signed and signals for the summoned creatures. The next thing you need to know is the hand seals, now watch carefully." He said and very slowly formed each seal in the chain while Karin watched intently, taking mental note of each one. "Then you find the right amount of chakra for the right summon and then." Naruto slammed his hands to the ground and a large puff of smoke appeared.

When it cleared Naruto was sitting atop a large dark orange toad wearing a dark blue shirt. "Yo bro, you called?" Gamakichi said knowing who was sitting atop his head.

"Yeah sorry Gamakichi, I'm teaching Karin how to summon and I needed a demonstration." Naruto answered, hopping off the toads head.

"Oh sounds like fun, I might stick around and watch for awhile. It's gotta be better than listening to Tatsu talk about snacks while the elders keep the lesser summons away from the well connecting Myobokuzan and Konoha." The large toad said before in a puff of smoke it reverted into the size of a small toad no larger than Naruto's hand and hopped next to the blond.

Karin then recognised the small orange toad as one of the ones that saw her, almost naked the night before. "Oh it's you." she said a little cooler than she had intended, she knew it wasn't the toads fault that she had burst in on them enjoying the bath.

"Hi I'm Gamakichi, the son of the boss toad Gamabunta, and Naruto's personal summons pleased to meet you." The toad said with a friendly wave.

"You have a personal summons?" karin questioned.

"Yeah, I'm not sure about everyone but Tsunade-Baachan had the Slug queen Katsuyu, Ero-sennin had Gamaken, my father had Gamabunta even Orochimaru had a personal snake summons. They have an advantage because not all summons will accept to help freely, some expect payment. Most of the toads listen to me as I am the summoner in charge of the summoning scroll and their sage. But Kichi's brother Gamatatsu still works for junk food, and I'm supposed to share a drink of Sake with Gamabunta when I turn eighteen." Naruto explained.

"So how do I get a personal summons?" Karin asked.

"Huh, to tell you the truth I am not exactly sure, I think it's like a personal contract where the two come to an agreement. Kichi was the first toad I summoned... well other than the boss toad." Naruto admitted. '_Well there were all those tadpoles, but she doesn't need to know that._'

"I see, and how do I know what the others will want as payment?" She continued.

"They will usually tell you before they agree to fight for you. Normally it isn't anything major... although I seem to recall the boss snake summons, Manda demanding human sacrifices." Naruto shuddered at the end. '_Seriously Jiji, what were you thinking giving Orochimaru-teme a summoning contract like that?_' He wondered.

"Yes I remember Manda. Orochimaru-sama once sacrificed some of our men to appease that giant snake. I half thought I was going to be the one sacrificed when he told me what was going to happen, it was terrifying." Karin admitted.

"Yeah that's why we don't get along with the Snake clan, no regard for life at all. Tou-san is always talking about how he want's to turn Manda into a snake skin wallet, I really want to see him do it too." Gamakichi said happily.

"Well I hope that the snow leopards aren't like that." Karin said hopefully. She was slightly pessimistic however. '_They have killed most if not all of the people that have made it this far north, it is possible that they would ask for something like a human sacrifice. I know I did that sort of thing for Orochimaru, but what would Naruto-kun think if I started doing that._' she thought suddenly very worried.

"It's hard to say, I know that Anko from Konoha also had snake summons but her's were not as bad, but she was still somewhat sadistic, damn crazy snake lady." Naruto said subconsciously rubbing his cheek where Anko had once cut him to lick his blood.

"Anko? Orochimaru spoke of her once, she was his first apprentice. He hand picked her out of the academy. But I guess in the end she too became another experiment." Karin sighed.

"He ruined so many lives it makes me angry just thinking about it. We're waisting time talking about this stuff, try summoning something, now this requires quite a bit of chakra so don't hold back." Naruto lectured.

"Alright so I draw some blood." She said biting down on the edge of her thumb, just hard enough to get a droplet of blood. "Then I perform the hand seals." She said and slowly ran through the seals and a slowish rate to make sure she got them right. When he hit the last seal she placed her palms to the ground and a puff of smoke appeared. When it cleared a small cub around the size of Gamakichi appeared. "I did it." she cheered happily.

"Where am I? Oh it's you, I guess you're learning how to summon us huh." The small cub said in a rather prideful voice.

Meanwhile Naruto was slightly upset. "Uh man, it took me ages to be able to summon something that could talk, I was getting nothing but tadpoles until I summoned Gamabunta." He whined.

"Well snow leopards don't have tadpoles I am one of the smallest of our talking summons." The cub replied.

Karin meanwhile was seemingly caught in what would appear to be a moral dilemma. '_So cute... __wan't to hug._'

"So maybe she wasn't that much better than I was when I first tried to summon." Naruto said with a sigh of relief.

"Nah, you were pretty bad bro." Gamakichi laughed.

The blond face vaulted in disappointment. "I'm a good summoner dammit." he pouted. It was at that moment he noticed Karin seemed to be frozen. "Hey is something wrong? You haven't moved since your first summoning." He asked a slight hint of worry creeping into his voice.

"It's so cute." she half whispered in response unaware that she was saying anything at all.

Naruto and Gamakichi broke out in laughter, while the small summoned leopard looked somewhat disgruntled. "I am a member of the snow leopard clan, we are not cute." The young leopard said indignantly. Which suddenly broke Karin out of her trance.

"Are you kidding, you're down right adorable, I bet you would have half the kunoichi population swooning over you, Hell I would say that you could defeat most of them with a cute pout and allowing them to squeeze you." Gamakichi laughed.

"Oh what would you know, I will not lower myself to such a level as allowing myself to be used as a stuffed toy." The leopard said going red in the face from anger.

Before the summons could act further he was picked up by Karin and pulled into a hug. "I think he's right, how could anybody fight against something this cute." She declared.

"I do not have to take this." The leopard said with some finality before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Once more Naruto and Gamakichi exploded in laughter while Karin pouted, upset that the small cub had gone. "Alright, that was great for a first time, but we need to get you summoning the bigger cats, lets go again, this time put more chakra into it." Naruto instructed. With a huff Karin nodded and nodded running once more through the hand seals.

(**Konoha**)

Tsunade was never known as the most patient person in Konoha, in fact it was quite the opposite. It had only been a few hours since she had found out that Naruto had faked his own death and she was already itching to go out after him. Kakashi's plan was sound however and she knew that Naruto would never have done something like that for no reason.

The Godaime was currently heading to the new Hokage tower. '_I guess it can't hurt to try and speed up the process of getting this sham of a funeral over and done with so I will be allowed to leave and go after that idiot._' she thought as she trudged down the once more busy Konoha streets. Store owners and passers by alike would almost bow in reverence to her, as the former Hokage, one of Konoha's legendary three, and of course as the last surviving member of the Senju clan. There was Tenzo however, he was a genetic clone of her grandfather despite the fact that he looked nothing like the Shodai, still he was every bit a Senju.

"Good morning Tsunade-sama." Shizune greeted her master and best friend as the busty Senju entered the Hokage tower. Shizune had continued working as Kakashi's assistant while Tsunade while Tsunade was in the hospital and she saw no need to quit as she had some experience in forcing a Kage to do their paperwork rather than slack off.

"Good morning Shizune, is Kakashi in?" Tsunade asked.

"I believe he arrived not too long ago, it seems as though becoming Hokage has not improved his sense of arriving anywhere on time." Shizune answered sadly.

"Good then I will be going to see him. Oh and make sure we're undisturbed." Tsunade replied.

Shizune nodded. "Kakashi-sama has no meetings planned this morning so you should have any disruptions."

"Good. Oh by the way how has Sakura been coping with the hospital workload after the war? If you are working here then she must be doing alright by herself." Tsunade asked.

"Sakura has been performing admirably, I think she has buried herself in her work as a means to escape the death of Naruto-kun and the Uchiha." Shizune said. She couldn't bring herself to say Sasuke's name, there was just no way that the kunoichi could forgive him for killing the young man she considered a brother.

Tsunade nodded in understanding and moved on, heading up the stairs towards Kakashi's office. She has a rather nostalgic smile on her face as she pushed the door open to what used to be her office, that smile was soon replaced by a scowl and a tick mark on her forehead however when she noticed Kakashi leaning back in his chair with a copy of one of Jiraiya's books out looking for all the world to see unashamedly interested in the smut. "So even in here you can do nothing but read those damn books, you do realise that there won't be any more right?" She said, the scowl not leaving her face.

"Mah, you can never rule anything out in this world. I take it you wanted to see me for something?" Kakashi replied lazily.

"I was wondering if you had set a date for Naruto's funeral yet. Sticking around here longer than necessary is not sitting well with me, that idiot could be anywhere by now, it's been months since the war in that time he could have crossed the Elemental Nations several times over, especially if he was moving at full speed." Tsunade replied.

"I have taken care of it. I sent a message to the other Kage's and the Land of Iron telling them that Naruto's official funeral will be held in two weeks. last night after receiving a progress report from Sai I sent an order to recall his team from the field, they have been sent after Karin, the member of the Akatsuki that escaped from custody during the war. It seems they think she was hunting Naruto so they are currently checking the scene of his fight with Sasuke." Kakashi informed the former Hokage.

"That's perfect, it will give me both a reason to travel to any of the five Major nations, and a lead to go on. If that girl discovered that Naruto wasn't really dead then chances are she is still looking for him as well. Still she must have a death wish if she is actually intending to try and kill him, he's far to strong to be defeated by that girl. From the reports we took her skills were scarcely higher than a genin, but she had amazing sensory skills. It's possible she was able to sense the difference between the Zetsu clone and Naruto. Even if nobody else could." Tsunade concluded.

"That was my observation on the matter. Still it seems unthinkable that she would have gone after Naruto. We saved her after Sakura attempted to take on Sasuke by herself. Sasuke had stabbed her in the chest only just missing her heart, there is no way that she would go this far for Sasuke after something like that. She would have died had Sakura not been there." Kakashi said, his eyes not leaving his precious orange book.

"She's doing it for Sasuke's sake?" The Godaime questioned.

"It's the only possible explanation that crosses my mind. From the information we received from the kunoichi during her imprisonment it became clear that she was, or at least had been highly infatuated with Sasuke. Ibiki and Inochi both concluded that those feelings had diminished significantly due to the violent end to their partnership, evidenced by her freely giving up information on Sasuke's skills and the location of one of the Akatsuki bases. If she is going after Naruto though, it would seem that the information was wrong, and she is after revenge."Kakashi explained.

"So despite the fact that Sasuke stabbed her clean through the chest and the wound would have killed her had Sakura not been on hand to give significant medical attention, she still runs off after Sasuke? I must say she gives kunoichi a bad name... Scratch that, she gives all women in general a bad name, it just doesn't make any sense." Tsunade thought out loud while taking a seat on the other side of Kakashi's desk.

Kakashi nodded at the busty Senju's assumption. "I agree. But I highly doubt she would be chasing after Naruto based on loyalty to the Akatsuki. From what we have gathered she was only there due to her loyalty to Sasuke in the first place."

"Regardless, she poses no real threat to Naruto, but she may be able to find him. In that case all I have to do is find her first. I Find Karin and I bet Naruto won't be too far away. If not, it will at least be a lead I can follow up on." Tsunade mused.

(**Elsewhere**)

The late afternoon sun cast an orange glow over the barren landscape that was the sight of Naruto's final fight with Sasuke. There was a distinct lack of shade caused by the trees having been either bunt to a crisp or simply blown away by the force of the two shinobi fighting.

The team from Konoha had spent the entire day searching for any sign of Karin having passed through the area. However the task was proving to be as difficult as finding a needle in a giant pile of different needles. There had been so many people pass through the area to pay their respects that tracks ran in every direction, it had also rained quite heavily at time in the months that had passed since Naruto's supposed death.

Sai, who was still circling high above on his ink bird was quite sure that they were not going to find anything, A sentiment shared by Kiba, Neji and even Shino. Hinata however remained forcefully optimistic, she had to be. This was their last chance to catch a break and find a lead on the whereabouts of Karin.

For this reason Hinata kept heading further and further out from the sight that Naruto and Sasuke's bodies were found in search of a clue. '_Just a little further, if I keep searching something will come up._' she told herself in a form of self denial.

She had been searching a small patch of forrest to the the north when she stumbled upon a small clearing. It was uninteresting enough, save the uneven surface. It looked as though it had been dug up and reburied. What did catch her eye however was a single set of very fine scuff marks that looked like they may have been the remainder of foot prints left in loose soil.

Knowing some loose soil and a few aged footprints were nothing definitive Hinata decided to investigate closer, thanks to her training with Kiba and Shino she was more than adequate at reading tracks, even old ones. Following the correct direction Hinata deduced that whoever it had been that had passed the area had stayed for awhile and had knelt down on multiple occasions, she could also tell by the shape of the marks that it had been from a female.

This had the young Hyuuga excited, it was still a long shot but it was possible that their target had come this way for what ever reason. At the end of the trail it appeared that the person whoever it may be, headed west. '_I should go tell the others._' Hinata thought and turned back in the direction of the sight of Naruto's fight with Sasuke.

She had taken a few steps when she a dull flash of burnt orange caught her eye. She stopped dead in her tracks, on a branch was a thin strip of cloth that she would recognise anywhere, it was part of Naruto's signature orange suit, it had been worn out in the weather and was only a small piece of fabric but she had no doubt on where it had come from.

In the blink of an eye she was at the branch and quickly removing the fabric that it had caught. On closer inspection she was positive that it was indeed Naruto's. '_There is no signs of the fight coming this far north, and the signs of distress on this branch indicate that he must have been highly exhausted when he passed this way. What does this mean?_' she asked herself gripping the small piece of fabric close to her chest. "Maybe the others will have some idea." With that final thought verbalised, Hinata took off at top speed back to the rest of the tracking team.

When the Hyuuga heiress arrived back where she had started her search that morning she found the others all gathered around in a circle. "Oh Hinata, we were about to go look for you." Kiba said waving her over.

"I think I may have found something, it's not much to go on but it may be a lead." Hinata replied happily moving to join the others.

"Unfortunately we won't be able to follow up on that I am afraid. We have received a recall notice from Kakashi-sama. We need to head back to Konoha immediately, as the date for Naruto's funeral has been set in two weeks." Sai said blankly.

"But I found something that we really should check out. Look at this." Hinata said handing over the torn piece of Orange cloth.

The other shinobi's eyes widened "Is that?"

"I believe so, this is from Naruto-kun's jacket, but I found it caught on the branch of a tree that had been disturbed a decent way north of here. Near where I found that there was some footprints and handprints from a female, I think it was Karin's." Hinata answered quickly.

The others looked somewhat skeptical at the Hyuuga kunoichi. "How could you tell, it was from Karin? It would have been months since she was here. There has also been heavy rains it's highly unlikely that an open trail would be left behind." Sai said.

"As for that section of Naruto's jacket... it could have blown there in the wind. I see no evidence that suggests that he was ever in that area." Neji added.

"I know that but I just have a feeling, this is the path that we need to follow, it will lead us to Karin I am sure of it." Hinata retorted fervently.

Neji sighed and shook his head appologetically. "I am sorry Hinata-sama, our orders are absolute, you may give your theory to the the team that is sent out to replace us but we must return to Konoha. You wouldn't want to miss Naruto's funeral would you?"

Hinata looked torn, at this point even if her hunch did turn into a solid lead they had been called back to Konoha. Then there was the patch of Naruto's jacket, aged or not it was clear that it had not been wind that carried it there. She was filled with so many questions that had no answers, silently she cursed even returning. 'If I had just spent more time researching for myself then I could have a solid lead and maybe a few answers. I don't want to return just yet, I need to know what really happened here and where Karin is, she might know something about the reason Naruto-kun was so far north.' She thought. Despite a head full of objections and reasons to stay behind all she could muster to say in the end was. "Yes Neji-niisan."

"Good. Now we still have a few hours of light so we should make good use of that time and get as far south as we can." Neji said authoritatively.

"Oh there's a village I heard about thats famous for it's hot spring baths to the south, we should stop there." Kiba said with some enthusiasm.

"Kiba we are not on a vacation, our orders are to return to Konoha as soon as possible." Shino suggested in his usual monotone drone.

Surprisingly Sai put his hand up to voice his opinion. "Actually Shino, that sounds like a good place to stay for the night. I know the village Kiba is speaking of and it will take us a few hours to get there. A night with some relaxation will help rejuvenate us for the remainder of the trip home."

"We will make for the village as Kiba and Sai suggested, but if we arrive with time to spare, then we keep moving. Kakashi-sama's orders were quite clear, we will not be spending excess time on relaxation." Neji reasoned.

The group nodded with Hinata barely listening or caring, her mind was back north trying to put together the rather unique puzzle that had been lain out for her. However when the others started to move she followed.

(**Snow Leopard Cave**)

"Dammit! I have been doing this for hours and I haven't summoned anything larger than an adolescent cub, I'm exhausted." Karin whined.

Naruto for his part was not all that interested, he was finally experiencing how Jiraiya must have felt when training him how to summon toads. Karin was doing nothing wrong, she simply lacked the experience of how much chakra she would need to summon one of the larger leopards. Still he had said he would help, so he stayed around while sending clones out to train in the mountains and scout the area.

At the moment however he was playing cards with Gamakichi, something that didn't go down particularly well with the red haired kunoichi. "Are you even listening to me!?" she asked with a tick mark forming on her forehead.

"Yeah, exhausted, been at it for hours." Naruto mumbled before looking up from his cards. "Got any threes?"

"Why would I tell you, we're playing poker."

"Hey a summons is supposed to obey their summoner."

"Not when they're playing cards, I don't see any life threatening situation here so you're on your own." Gamakichi laughed but then paused when he saw the expression on Karin's face. "Hm well that might be kind of dangerous." The toad mumbled.

"Huh?" Naruto questioned turning around to see what Gamakichi was talking about.

Karin was red in the face with anger. "Don't ignore me in favour of your toad!" She yelled clearly upset.

Naruto jumped to his feet and quickly started apologising completely oblivious to Gamakichi leaning over to check what Naruto's cards were. '_Oh sweet kami..._' "Yo Naruto I fold! I better get going Tou-san is probably wondering where I am anyway, see ya boss."

"Ah man, you went and chased him off." The blond sighed.

Karin simply huffed in response. "Good, it's not like he was doing anything productive." She said moodily. Her expression then did a one eighty and she seemed quite happy again. "I'm too tired to attempt to summon again today, why don't we head back and grab something to eat, you can even have the bath first." she chirped.

"Ah that might be for the best, it would be a bother if you get too exhausted. Oh and you don't need to worry about letting me have the bath first, Namayu has prepared a new room for me to stay in with my own hot spring so we don't have to share anymore. So you will get your bed to yourself again. Thank's for letting me share last night I know it must have made you uncomfortable."

Karin's enthusiastic smile faltered somewhat but Naruto put it down to an unpleasant memory of having to share a bed with him. "No it's alright, it was only for one night in the end." she mumbled. '_That's right, I forgot that he was going to be given a new place to sleep._' "We can still eat together, it doesn't make sense to split up the food when we will only be here a few more days." She said, her previous enthusiasm returning to cover up her disappointment.

Naruto smiled and nodded. "Sure that sounds like a good idea. Seeing as you don't know where my new place is, I'll show up in a few hours for dinner."

"Sounds great, see you then." Karin replied before running off back to her cave. 'It almost feels like a real date, having a boy come over and cook dinner together.' she thought with a blissful smile. It had been too long since Karin had felt that way, but she knew she had to be careful not to fall back into her old fangirl habits.

**End Chapter!**

**Another one down, things will start moving a little bit faster from now, probably include the funeral in the next chapter, and I would say only two chapters max before Naruto and Karin get past the mountains and I can start on the next section of the story. **

**Spoiler Alert!**

**Looks like team seven is back together, but I call BS on what ever plot hole jutsu they are going to pull out for, Sakura supposedly hiding her strength, fuck that, she has been useless for 500+ chapters minus the fight with Sasori and now she is going to get some power up that I am guessing will supposedly make her on par with Sasuke and Naruto? that's just a plot hole for the sake of making a character nobody likes slightly less useless. Minato's Kyuubi cloak was interesting was expecting him to transfer the chakra over to Naruto. As for Sasuke declaring he want's to be Hokage? he should still be killed in my opinion, but thats just because I don't like him as a character. If they all forgive him and he returns to Konoha without some sort of punishment I am going to be pissed. **

**Moral of the story kids, do what ever the fuck you want because all you have to do is apologise and everything is good again. Fuck that!**


	18. Departing the Snow Leopard Cave

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 18 Departing The Snow Leopard Cave **

Several days passed and Karin had not yet been able to summon the largest members of the Snow Leopard clans. Despite this she was thrilled to now be able to summon members of the clan that were more than twice her size that she could ride easily. Overall she was enjoying her time with the felines, the only down side was that after the second day Naruto had barely been seen. He had gone out every morning to train in the mountains and wouldn't come back until dinner time, which was the only time she had seen the jinchuuriki.

This morning however he was leaning against the entrance to her cave waiting for her to arrive. "Good morning." he said happily.

Karin jumped in surprise. "Naruto! You scared me half to death."

"Oh sorry about that I just needed to talk to you." Naruto replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck

"Really? What did you want to talk about? Did you find something out in the mountains?" She asked, a small blush crossing her cheeks, she couldn't help let her imagination run wild at the thought of what her crush wanted.

"Well, we've been here for a week now and I think it's time we should move on. I know you haven't managed to completely master summoning but you're at a level now where if you are in a bind they can help you out. I've scouted ahead during my time off we are near the end of the worst of the peaks but according to the Snow Leopards that I talked to outside it appears that once we reach the top there is a really long distance before we start to descend again." Naruto answered.

She let out a small sigh, despite all logic she had hoped it would be a confession rather than telling her that they were going to be moving on. "A plateau at the very top? That's probably not good. It will be nice to get to the top of these peaks but if they are really that long it could be even more dangerous with the wind and the temperature will be even lower as we get higher." Karin answered, trying to play off her disappointment. She was honestly a little scared, a flat area meant that there would be very few if any places to take shelter from the harsh weather.

"I know it's going to be dangerous, even the Snow Leopards don't like going up there. But I promise you that you will be alright. I don't know how I can say that but it's a promise of a lifetime, and I will do everything that I can to keep this one." Naruto declared, as honestly as he could.

"But what about you? What's the point of me getting through this without you?" Karin yelled.

"Huh what do you mean. You don't need me do you?" Naruto asked.

"Yes I do! I mean no I don't. Ah I don't know, I don't think I can survive out there without someone else, we have no idea what we will find on the other side of this. If there is nothing there I am as good as dead anyway, you need to live as well." Karin replied.

Naruto let out a smile. "It's alright, I can't be killed so easily. Having Kurama in me prevents me from ever being sick for long, it also makes my body immune to the extreme temperatures. So it's nice that you're worrying about me but I will be fine, honestly."

"You promise? Promise me that you will survive as well." Karin replied meekly.

"I promise, we will both be fine. Now, you should grab your stuff, we'll go say goodbye to that old geezer leopard then we will be on our way." Naruto said.

"Well most of my stuff is still packed so it won't take me long to get ready. We should take what we can cary of the food that we have been given here, it would be nice to have a few more days of fresh meat." Karin said with a nod.

"Do you want some help?" The blonde asked casually.

"That would be nice, but I think I can handle it. Come in though you don't have to wait around out here." Karin answered calmly. They both reentered the cave and Karin spent little time racing around picking up the few things she had removed from her traveling bag during their stay, a few clothes were hung up to dry in the corner which Karin was for the moment at least leaving alone. "By the way, why didn't you tell me we were leaving last night during dinner?"

"Well to be honest I didn't really think about it leaving until I went to bed. I just realised that I was getting kind of comfortable here, and the longer we stay the harder it will become to leave. So when I woke up this morning I made up my mind, packed up all my equipment, and came down here to see you." Naruto answered honestly.

"Oh. Don't you think that's a little rushed?" Karin asked.

Naruto rubbed the back of his neck with a slight hint of embarrassment. "I guess I didn't think about that. I suppose I was pretty quick to jump to a decision, I probably should have asked you first."

"Well it would have been nice to sit down and talk about our next move, especially when it could be so dangerous out there." The red head admitted.

"I'm sorry, if you wan't you can stay, you will be safe here, the Snow Leopards will protect you." Naruto replied.

"No I wan't to come with you, the Leopards are fine, but I would be happier with with having you to keep me company, besides someone has to make sure you stay safe as well." She said with a small blush.

Naruto blushed to match hers. "Thanks I like having you around, it's nice to be able to talk to someone else other than Kurama."

"Well you are much better company than Orochimaru's henchmen, and even Sasuke. He didn't talk much, just kind of grunted a lot." Karin admitted.

"He was like that when he was in Konoha, it's no real surprise he never really changed his whole life. It was always all about revenge for him, If he was a little more open then he could have been saved, there was still good in him." Naruto replied with a sad sigh.

Karin saw the look of regret on Naruto's face and felt bad for her new crush. "There was nothing you could have done. He chose his path and you chose yours, you can't blame yourself for surviving."

"You're right, but I was so sure we would have killed each other like the grand old geezer sage and I saw in our vision. But like you said I can't keep living in the past, I need to move forward." Naruto said with conviction.

"Then I will be there to help you. I've got all my stuff, lets just pack up the food and we can go." Karin said with a smile.

(**Meanwhile**)

"We're home, it sure feels good." Kiba sighed with a hint of relief.

"Our mission was a failure though." Shino pointed out in his usual stoic manner.

"Actually as we were never expected to find our target in the first place, the leads we found could be considered to be seen as a success." Sai retorted with a fake smile.

"We were'nt expected to find her? Then why send us out of the village then?" Hinata asked a little shocked.

"It's a common practice, teams that are approaching a level that would be considered for the Anbu hunter ninja squads are given an assignment that would normally be handed by an elite squad and tested upon their results." Sai explained.

"So this was nothing but a test?" Shino gathered.

"Exactly, and I would say that you will have passed. Actually I can confirm that as I was the one sent to test you." Sai added.

"So we were being drafted into Anbu all along? What if we don't want to join?" Hinata questioned.

"Then your three man squad will be broken up, unless you all decide against it. However if you accept you will be assigned a new squad commander and undergo Anbu level training." Sai informed the group.

"Oh so what about Neji? Is he joining too?" Kiba asked.

"No, he was aware of this from the start. Besides as you should know by now, he already has an assignment awaiting him should the joint shinobi alliance become permanent." Sai answered to which Neji only gave a nod to confirm Sai's story.

"We still should report our findings to Kakashi-sama, a mission is not finished until we report in." Shino informed the group. They all nodded in agreement and the tracking team began to move through the village towards the Hokage Tower.

Kakashi was having a more than stressful day. Since setting the official date for Naruto's funeral he had been bombarded with arrivals into Konoha as well as literally hundreds of new requests every day for admittance to Naruto's funeral, as well as outrage when it became clear that they would have to pay for the right to be there.

He hadn't even had a chance to read his precious Icha Icha books and was just about ready to resign from his position. Many of the friends that Naruto had made in the so called lesser nations were quite rightly furious that they had to pay to farewell someone that they considered to be a hero in their countries. Still this did not deter many of them, the priestess Shion from Demon country as well as the Daimyo from the Land of Spring had arrived early to voice their disapproval at not receiving the same treatment that was being awarded to the other Kage's and Daimyo's from the five major nations.

Kakashi of course felt bad, he understood their anger. He was giving preferential treatment to those who until very recently were considered threats and treated with hostility, while long term allies and personal friends of Naruto were overlooked on the basis of earning some money to aid in the recovery of the war effort.

The sliver haired Hokage let out a sigh as the door opened and Shizune entered his office. "Hokage-sama, the tracking team that were sent to look for the escaped Akatsuki kunoichi have returned."

"Have they found their target?" Kakashi asked lazily already knowing what the answer would be.

"It does not appear to be the case, it is always possible that they killed her rather than capture." Shizune answered.

"I doubt that. Send them in oh and could you send a message to Tsunade-sama, she requested to take the mission off their hands." Kakashi said lazily.

"Tsunade-sama did what? Why would she take on a long term tracking mission?" Shizune asked seriously.

"Do you really need me to tell you that?" Kakashi replied with a sad look in his one exposed eye.

"She's leaving because of Naruto-kun's death then. I can't believe she is letting herself fall apart like that again." Shizune said bitterly.

"I do not think it is as straight forward as that. While I agree that she is leaving due to Naruto's death, she has not fallen apart, I believe it is simply a case of her wanting to put an end to the Akatsuki once and for all. It will also be easier for someone like Tsunade-sama to travel around the elemental nations rather than a squad of masked Anbu." Kakashi informed his assistant.

Shizune sighed and shook her head. "That might be why she has even stayed this long, but she didn't tell me we were going anywhere."

"That's because you are staying behind, Tsunade is taking the mission on by herself. At the moment it is need to know, not even the elders know that Tsunade will be leaving. If you want more answers I suggest taking it up with her. Regardless, send Sai and the others in." The Hokage said with some finality.

"Very well I'll send them in, then i'll send for Tsunade-sama." Shizune said with a bow before leaving the room.

The door opened up a few moments later and in walked the team he had sent out from Konoha in search of Karin along with Sai. "Welcome back, I take it you were unable to find your target?" Kakashi asked casually.

"No, there have been no developments from the report. Still they found quite a few leads and easily passed the requirements to be entered into the Anbu hunter program." Sai said flatly.

Kakashi nodded and reached into his desk to pull out his little orange book. "That is to be expected, now tell me what you found."

The next few minutes passed with the Konoha shinobi giving their reports while Kakashi was reading, he would pause every so often to ask a question of comment on Karin's actions in her search for Naruto. This was the scene that Tsunade walked in on. "You're reading that, in this office. I should have all the copies burnt." She said with a scowl when she saw the copy of Icha Icha in Kakashi's hands.

"I was simply reading while we awaited your arrival." Kakashi said as casually as he could manage while he was under Tsunade's harsh glare. He put his book away and turned to face the tracking team. "Tsunade-sama is here to relieve you of your mission to locate Karin. All your findings will be passed on to her."

The tracking team couldn't believe it. "I thought we would be replaced by an Anbu squad." Kiba barked in shock.

"What you think I am not good enough? I think you should send this one back to the Academy rather than to Anbu, I don't think he passes the intelligence test. Not even Naruto would be dumb enough to question the abilities of a former Hokage." Tsunade said with a smirk.

"She has a point Kiba." Kakashi added.

Kiba immediately paled and decided to do the one thing he had left, plead for forgiveness. "I'm sorry Tsunade-sama, of course you will be able to do the job, I was simply questioning why you would take on such a menial task when you are capable of completing far more challenging missions."

"Well at least he has grovelling down to an art form." The busty former Hokage noted. "Anyway, what do you lot have for me to go on? I will be leaving the day after Naruto's funeral to try and find a trail."

"We lost a definite trail when we arrived at the sight of Naruto's fight with Sasuke, there had been so many people go through the area finding her trail was nearly impossible." Neji answered formally.

"A problem that will not occur once the others are given formal training the advanced tracking then even in hopeless situations like the one you faced where the trail would have been cold for months will be found. Is there anything else?" Kakashi remarked.

"Um yes, although I am not sure if it is relevant." Hinata said meekly producing the small torn piece of fabric from Naruto's jumpsuit. "I found this a fair way to the north east of where Naruto-kun was found, there were no signs of fighting there but I am sure Naruto-kun was there. If Karin was following Naruto-kun's tracks then there is a chance that she may have been in the area too. That might be a decent place to start the search." She added with growing confidence.

Tsunade's eyes widened slightly. While it may or may not give a lead onto Karin's whereabouts, it was damn sure a clue in tracking down Naruto. "I agree, I would like a map with the location marked before I go. For now why don't you all go have a few days off before the funeral. I think you have earned them, don't you agree Kakashi?"

"Yes I think that would be a good idea. Take the rest of the week off, report back here the day after the funeral with your decisions in regards to joining the hunter ninja." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

(**Meanwhile**)

Naruto and Karin were once more walking towards the large stone house where the the Snow Leopard elder lived. Namayu was lounging on the steps as they arrived and if he was in anyway surprised the see them, he didn't show it. "Elder-sama has been expecting you." The cat said lazily as they came within earshot, his eyes were closed and Naruto was surprised the large leopard was even awake.

"He knew were were coming to see him now?" Karin asked rather surprised.

"He's a seer, he's probably known when we would leave before we did." Naruto replied.

The resting Namayu allowed a small smirk to cross his face. "Quite right Naruto, he knew you were leaving today several days ago and asked me to be here to allow you both entrance to see him. So please don't let my presence distract you, enter at will."

Unlike the last time they were there, the hall was well lit as they entered and the ancient elder snow leopard was already resting on his pedestal. '_I swear these guys do nothing but rest in the most comfortable places they can find._' Naruto thought.

'_**Well it's not like they have much else to do, why not find someplace comfortable and relax?**_' Kurama questioned.

'_I guess you have a point, even I would get sick of training after awhile if there was nothing to test my strength against. Good thing I have you for that._' The blond thought back with a smile.

'_**If you say so, you're still millennia away from beating me without Sage Mode or my chakra.**_' The large fox scoffed in reply.

Naruto didn't bother to answer the Kyuubi as they had arrived in front of the Snow Leopard elder who had raised his head in acknowledgement of their arrival. "Yo old guy. You already know why we are here I guess." Naruto said with a friendly wave.

"That's right, you will be leaving us today, and it will be quite some time before I will see either of you again." The elder feline said sagely.

"So you already know if we will survive the mountains?" Karin asked.

"There are many outcomes that I have foreseen, even if I had an answer for you, by telling you it could effectively change the future. That is one of the curses of sight, time is in constant flux so what information I give cannot be seen as to be infallible, Naruto you know this all to well I am sure." The elder said.

"You mean the fact that I didn't die fighting Sasuke?" The blonde questioned.

The ancient looking leopard nodded in agreement. "Precisely, if you had no knowledge of a perceived view of the future you would not be standing here now. You would be home in your village instead you are here with Karin-chan."

"So because Naruto was told an outcome, his choice changed when things didn't happen as he was told." Karin surmised.

"Yes, if I was to tell you that you would survive the dangerous journey that lay ahead you would become less careful and the future could change, similarly if I said you would die then it would be possible that you would not leave and your path would stagnate." The elder added.

"Well I have to say you are just as frustrating as the grand old geezer toad even if you don't forget everything five minutes after you say it. I guess that what you are saying makes sense, if I had no knowledge of the prophecy I know that wouldn't have faked my death." Naruto replied.

"So we have to go on blind then, I can't be all that disappointed. I never had anyone who could tell me the future before." Karin sighed.

The elder let out a laugh. "I am afraid that I can no longer understand that particular way of life. However I will admit that I will miss these rather informal meetings, the other members of my clan only ever call me Elder-sama and talk like I am all knowing. Really it's a relief to be able to talk freely with someone for a change."

"Well we have to thank you for your hospitality and feeding us, not to mention the fact that you let me sign your summoning contract." Karin said with a bow.

"Think nothing of it, we have been waiting an age for a summoner to arrive, you still have much to learn about being a summoner but in time I am sure you will make us proud. But I guess all that there is to do now is bid you both farewell." The elder said

"Yeah it's been fun, you Leopards are awesome, but we really should keep moving. I just wanted to say goodbye before we left." Naruto said happily.

The old leopard sage smiled warmly at the pair. "You are a good man my young sage, do not let that change. I will be following your progress, keep safe, both of you."

"Don't worry, I'll make sure nothing happens to us." Naruto said with a confident foxlike smile. "Come on Karin, I found an area on my second day of scouting that would be the perfect place for us to set up camp for the night, but we need to hurry or else we won't get there on time."

"Alright let's go." Karin agreed. As Naruto moved to leave she stayed behind for a moment, bowed once more to the snow leopard elder before following Naruto out the door.

They left the cave without incident. Upon returning to the surface Karin had to squint to help readjust to the glare coming from the snow. It was a beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky much to her pleasure. The next thing she notices was the cold wind stinging her cheeks, it almost felt like tiny needles. "It's a bit of a shock when you come up from the warmth of that cave, but it get's better once you get used to the cold again." Naruto said with a reassuring smile.

Karin smiled back, her cheeks tinted pink from a mixture of the blush that was quickly spreading as well as the cold wind. "Alright, lead the way and I'll follow."

(**Konoha, Several Days Later**)

The days passed slowly for Kakashi, new arrivals meant that he was in his office all the time. 'At least this will be over after tomorrow.' He thought with a sigh.

"Wishing you never took the job?" came Tsunade's voice from the door. She had been helping Kakashi deal with the sudden influx of people into the village as well as taking care of the the other Kage's as they arrived, making sure they were comfortable.

"More and more each day. How are the other Kage's doing?" Kakashi replied wearily.

"As always they each have a set of unreasonable demands that are being taken care of as we speak. Gaara is as always asking for nothing, but it is rather difficult satisfying the Mizukage's dietary demands." Tsunade said while taking a seat.

Kakashi nodded and leaned back in his chair, he was starting to see why Hiruzen smoked and Tsunade drank, there was no way you could put up with the stress of this job without something to help you cope. "And the new Tsuchikage hasn't shown up yet, I hope he arrives before tonight, I was hoping to organise a meeting to discuss the alliance before the funeral tomorrow."

"They are expected to arrive some time later this morning." Tsunade informed the Copycat Hokage.

"Good it's imperative that these talks go smoothly, I know that the others are just as keen to see this alliance made permanent but Iwa could still hold out, if they do we will see a power vacuum Iwa will have to militarise to oppose four major villages which will inevitably lead to another war. Obito was wrong about so many things, but in that sense he was right. If we do not all unite then the world is doomed to yet another war." Kakashi sighed.

"All times of peace come to an end eventually Kakashi, it's what we do with our time of peace that matters in this world. This ninja world has never seen more than ten years without a major conflict in one area or another. But every time that a new age of peace comes we must be hopeful that it will be a long one." Tsunade spoke sagely.

"You sound more like Jiraiya-sama there than yourself. I don't suppose you want to take up writing? I could use some new literature." Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"I will never write that smut you call literature. You need your head examined if you think that I will." Tsunade scoffed.

Kakashi let out a chuckle along with one of his patented eye smiles. "Well it's just you talking about peace and going out on journey for an unknown amount of time. That's Jiraiya-sama all over."

"Yell well unlike that pervert my journey has a purpose, he just traveled the world to perve on women under the guise of being a spy." Tsunade said flatly.

"Well you do have a point there, but you have to admit his rather... unique style did lead to him being able to avoid detection when necessary." Kakashi retorted.

Tsunade nodded in agreement. "That is true, nobody could hide better than that fool. An impressive task when you considered what he wore and how tall he was."

"When I first met Naruto I was half convinced he wore that jumpsuit for the same reason. I mean he did manage to paint the Hokage monument while wearing it." Kakashi agreed.

"Those two are more alike than even they were willing to admit. Anymore alike and we would have to face Kushina when we pass on." The busty blonde chuckled.

Kakashi shivered in thought, he had great respect for Kushina but when she was mad nothing would be able to stop her. All you could do was close your eyes and hope that you were not the source of her ire. As he was about to respond, the door opened and Shizune entered the room. "Hokage-sama, the delegation from Iwa has arrived at the front gate. A guide has been sent to show them to their accommodation."

"So the last of the five Kages have arrived. Invite them all to dinner tonight, an informal greeting before our more important talks will proceed will help everyone relax." Kakashi said. He was quite relieved, now that the Tsuchikage had arrived the last of the guests for the funeral were accounted for. Konoha was set to make a healthy profit from the sales of seats to the public with only the five Kage, village elders and Naruto's closest friends being given free entry. "I'm quite glad this week is almost over to be honest."

"Things will still be hectic after this you realise. A new alliance requires a lot of hard work to maintain. That is the life of a Hokage, you must constantly work for the good of the village while giving up your own freedoms. This is part of your life now." Tsunade lectured.

"I don't suppose that there are any decent candidates for the Nanadaime Hokage?" Kakashi asked reluctantly.

Tsunade laughed at Kakashi's hopeless expression. "Well I can't think of any, at least none that will be easy to locate."

"I do hope you are not encouraging Kakashi-sama to have the shortest reign as Hokage, Tsunade-sama." Shizune said with a disapproving tone.

"Not at all, I am simply stating fact, that at the moment only Kakashi has the qualifications to be Hokage, and I cannot see that changing in the foreseeable future." Tsunade replied.

"Yourself exclude but I have already given up hope on asking you to reclaim the title." Kakashi said honestly.

"Quite right I have something more important to take care of. I can't be babysitting Konoha."

(**Meanwhile**)

"It's quite a sight isn't it?" Naruto said with a hint of awe in his voice.

"It sure is." Karin replied. The pair stood at the top of the peaks looking out over an endless expanse of flat snow. There wasn't a cloud in the sky leaving the pair an unobstructed view over the horizon. The land was so flat it felt like they could see the curve of the earth in front of them. Looking back they could see various peaks sticking up across the horizon, of the path they had taken on their journey. "We've come so far." she gaped.

"It's not over yet, we still have a long way to go. But we can move a lot faster on this flat surface. So let's not waste any time, a new world is awaiting us on the other side. I can't wait to see what it's going to be like!" Naruto cheered and in typical hyperactive fashion took off at a sprint.

"Hey wait up, don't leave me behind!" Karin called after the blond as she gave chase.

**End Chapter! **

**Sorry the chapter is late this week, I have been most of my time I normally spend writing has been used up by playing 'The Last of Us'. If you have a PS3 this game is a must, 10/10 and then some, an absolute masterpiece. It is a fitting farewell to the PS3 console. Okay shameless plug out of the way, I probably could have done more with this chapter. I had originally planned to put the funeral in, but I couldn't find a way to make it feel natural and not rushed. It will definitely happen next chapter as I made sure to end this chapter at the day before. Probably not my best work as I have been preoccupied so I apologise for that. **

**Spoiler Alert.**

**Not so much a rage this week as a point of acknowledgement that Kishimoto may be realising that making Sasuke a hero makes no sense and the fact that at least half of the readers don't like him as a character. If even Sakura doesn't believe that he has really changed then hopefully we will see his true colours at the end. I still think Hashirama should have killed him the moment he threatened Konoha, if he would kill his best friend for the same thing why hesitate with Sasuke?. He was able to break out of Orochimaru's control without any trouble, and he could just bring himself back like Madara did if Orochimaru tried to stop the jutsu. Anyway if they are allying just to get rid of Madara and the Juubi, then I am fine with that, there is some logic to it. But if Sasuke really becomes an ally and it ends with them living happily ever after, someone will need to find Kishimoto and bitch slap some sense into him. **

**Only real issue I have to make is his once more degrading of women with Karin. I am no feminist, I'm a guy, but to have her say that she loved being stabbed in the chest by Sasuke made me feel sad. I realise that this is a manga and things don't always have to be perfect, but at least try and make the characters slightly realistic. How are you supposed to identify with a character if they lack even basic human reactions. If someone almost kills you, you don't jump back into their arms and you certainly don't say that you enjoyed it, how fucked up in the head would you have to be? I have heard of Masochistic tendencies but that is fucking ridiculous. She is definitely the poster girl for domestic abuse.**


	19. Naruto's Funeral

**I don't own Naruto, or any of the characters of the Manga or Anime. If I did I wouldn't have so many damn fillers.**

**A Price for Peace**

**Chapter 19: Naruto's Funeral**

Konoha was filled to the brim, on the final night before Naruto's funeral, the centre of the village was currently being transformed for a large celebration after the event and the area behind the Hokage monument now was the location where they would hold the funeral.

Konoha itself was alight with colour, orange and black banners stood on every corner, the orange due to Naruto's ever definable jumpsuit and the black for mourning. There were festive lights hanging through the main areas of town that were available to tourists and those visiting from other shinobi villages. Even sections of Konoha's famous forests were lit to celebrate the life of the young man who won the war, and saved more lives than anyone could count.

While most in the village were still getting over the war, celebrating the victory and mourning the dead, the leaders of many villages and nations were being treated to a feast by the Hokage and village elders. Only the most important guests were invited.

The room was already full when the Hokage along with Tsunade and the Konoha village elders entered. Several had found their seats at the table while others were standing, talking animatedly with guests.

"Welcome everyone, I trust that you all have found Konoha to be accommodating during your stay so far. This is the first time that we have had so many village leaders in the one room, which gives us a unique opportunity. With the defeat of the Akatsuki there is hope once more for sustained peace without the need for constant vigilance on our neighbours." Kakashi said as a greeting. Kakashi took a seat at the head of the table flanked by Tsunade on one side and the village elders on the other.

Several sections of the room clapped approvingly while a few others were less than impressed. "If you really wanted peace so badly you wouldn't have charged us an entry free just to farewell a hero in our nation." A member of the delegation from the Land of Spring scoffed.

"Maybe if you had joined the alliance and offered us assistance during the war then you wouldn't have to pay at all, you let our men fight and die for you without even lifting a finger." A balding man who sat beside the newly elected Tsuchikage Kitsuchi said boldly.

"We are under no agreement to fight your wars, if the five great nations go to war, why should you expect us to donate our men, we have far less resources and shinobi than any of you." A kunoichi from the Land of Stars replied.

"This war was not fought over land or resources, this war was fought for the good of the whole world, yet you decided to let us fight alone in hopes that we would win but be so badly crippled that your villages could take our place, in my day that was grounds for war in itself." A tall man in sea green robes with an eye patch declared. Next to him sat a beautiful woman dressed in all blue with long auburn hair.

The Mizukage smiled at her bodyguard with the same sweet innocence that she saved for only those people that had angered her in some way. She leaned over to him so she could whisper into his ear. "Ao shut up or I will kill you." The colour instantly drained from the Kiri shinobi's face. "I can understand your frustration, Konoha has allowed members from the five great nations, including myself to come here and mourn the loss of Naruto-kun for free due to peace talks between our nations, while many of you who knew him better than we did were forced to pay. I am sure Kakashi-dono's purpose for doing so is due to the fact that Konoha has just recently been rebuilt, an expensive task meaning Konoha will owe a fair amount of Ryo to their Daimyo, this is a chance for them to recover some of that lost funding. I am also aware that despite the need to pay for entrance they have been forced to turn a great number of people down due to a lack of room. If they didn't charge entrance or have a set number of people that could attend the ceremony then it is likely that the village would not be able to cope with the influx of people, and you would have far more complaints than those that you have at the moment." Mei added diplomatically.

Many in the room were impressed at her ability to defuse a potentially hostile situation, at least those that had not attended any of the Kage meetings were. "Thank you Mei-dono. I can assure all of you that it was with a heavy heart that we decided that it was necessary to charge the fee for you to come here for Naruto's funeral. The war has been hard on all of us, we all lost many good shinobi and this funeral is much for all of them as it is for Naruto." Kakashi replied.

"I think this discussion should wait until our official meetings regarding an alliance. Tonight is about welcoming so many important people to Konoha. It is an honour to have you all here, even if it is for a less than happy occasion." Tsunade said with a smile.

"She's right yo, the slug queen's real bright." A tall highly tanned man in full Raikage robes said in rap form, at his side sat two highly embarrassed looking bodyguards.

"Bee-sama please I asked you not to rap while you're here." A rather stoic looking blonde woman replied.

"Did you really think he would Samui? This was why A-sama never let Bee-sama into any meetings with other nations." The other body guard said. He was a man with pure white spiky hair that emphasised his tanned skin.

"It's fine Samui-chan, this is a party ya dig. Darui no need to bring my bro inta this relax and go with the flow." Bee rapped happily, clearly not taking any notice of the odd looks many were giving the rather eccentric new Raikage.

"Bee-dono, I was wondering, does the Hachibi know if the other Bijuu will be revived, if not, what is the time scale that we will be looking at for the return of the Kyuubi?" Gaara asked in his passive manner. Many people at the table were interested in this, for many reasons, a Bijuu signified power any nation that got their hands on one would have significant pull over other nations.

The Raikage paused, internally he was talking with his Bijuu. "I can't say, The other Bijuu became the Juubi yo, so they might be gone for good, but there is still hope, although the chances are remote." He rapped back eventually. Poor rapping aside he caught the attention of the others in the room.

"What hope is that? You think they could still come back?" Koharu asked intently. Despite knowing they were heading towards a new alliance with the five great nations she was still a Konoha elder and interested in the safety and power of her home village.

"Naruto had power from all the Bijuu, that power might bring them back, but how long? I'm in the black. Kurama's jinchuuriki has never been killed while he was inside, so when he comes back it will be a wild ride." The Hachibi jinchuuriki answered.

"But it was only a small amount of their chakra, would that be enough to revive them? Even if it was it wouldn't take longer than we have on record." Kitsuchi asked.

"That seems logical, the Bijuu were nothing but masses of chakra that came from nature, so it's possible that if enough time passes they will reform. It may not be within our lifetime though. The Kyuubi should return, but the question is what do we do when it does? Naruto befriended the Bijuu, I doubt that the Kyuubi would cause us any harm because of that. All sealing it again would do is renew it's hatred towards shinobi." Gaara reasoned.

"Leaving that fox roam is dangerous, what if someone tries to use it against us like the Akatsuki did? The beast my tolerate Konoha and the other four great villages, but we don't want a free Bijuu terrorising our countries." The leader of Taki said cautiously.

"I don't see that being an issue for Taki, your country has natural protection from the outside. I doubt that even the Kyuubi could get in if it wanted to. You did have a jinchuuriki that you mistreated, perhaps it will want revenge?" Kitsuchi replied with a scoffed laugh.

"You can't talk, Iwa disliked their jinchuuriki so much they were kept outside of the village, I hear your father didn't even try to recover them when captured." The man from Taki replied angrily.

Kitsuchi nodded in acceptance. "You are right, all of our villages are guilty of at one time mistreating our jinchuuriki, even Konoha, it's ironic that one is now the biggest hero the elemental nations have ever seen. Perspectives change as I am sure they have in all of our villages. Now if someone became a jinchuuriki I am sure they would see it as a great honour. As for the situation regarding the fox, perhaps it would be best to try and establish a positive relationship with the Bijuu once it reforms? It takes years to train a jinchuuriki, but if there was a way we could befriend the Bijuu you could have an effective ally without the need to confine the Kyuubi." He said.

"That seems like an interesting proposal. Do you think it is something that could be repeated with the other Bijuu if they reform in this world?" Gaara asked. He had serious reservations about the stability of his former prisoner. Shukaku the Ichibi was the most unstable of all the Bijuu from what he had heard and was rather insane.

"It might, if the other Bijuu support the idea. It has to be better than being sealed away in any case." Mei guessed.

While this discussion was going on Kakashi and Tsunade remained silent, the conversation on hypothetical's was an impossibility because the Kyuubi had no need to reform as it's host was not dead. One thing did interest the two Konoha ninja though. "What would have happened to the other Bijuu's chakra if Naruto hadn't died?" Tsunade eventually asked unable to contain her intrigue.

Everyone instantly looked the the Raikage for an answer. Bee hummed as he asked his Bijuu. "I don't know, it's impossible to tell yo!"

"That is an interesting thought, Naruto contained chakra from most if not all of the Bijuu, if they reformed again would they have become part of him? Or simply reformed out in the real world? It's really a shame that we will never know." Gaara sighed.

"A jinchuuriki for multiple Bijuu, is that even physically possible? You need to be unique in order to become a jinchuuriki at all, for someone to hold multiple Bijuu doesn't seem possible." The leader of Taki asked.

"Naruto was an Uzumaki, one of the few clans who are all capable of becoming jinchuuriki thanks to their uniquely strong vitality, it would not be much of a stretch to think that one could contain multiple Bijuu, especially when they already have chakra levels as high as Naruto's. His mother was chosen as the Kyuubi jinchuuriki before him for the same reason that he was, they are the perfect containers. That's why we gave the Kyuubi to the Uzumaki clan who were not from Konoha at all." Tsunade informed the room.

"It's true, Kumo attempted to kidnap the former Kyuubi jinchuuriki, Kushina Uzumaki because of her unique chakra chains that could suppress a Bijuu. Although it is unclear if they knew she was a jinchuuriki at the time. Even before her there was Mito Uzumaki who was able to seal the Kyuubi, becoming the first jinchuuriki of one of the nine Bijuu." Mei said in agreement.

"You're well informed on our history Mei-dono." Homura said a little coldly, the Kyuubi's previous jinchuuriki were supposed to be well kept secrets.

"I've done my research." The Mizukage replied with a sweet smile.

Their conversation was forgotten moments later when waiters appeared carrying the first course of the dinner. All the tension faded and small conversations broke out between the various village dignitaries.

(**Meanwhile**)

A very different dinner was taking place high in the mountainous peaks above the elemental nations. Two shinobi were huddled around a small heater while blisteringly cold winds bombarded their tent. "I am s-s-seriously regretting not staying wi-with the snow leopards." Karin stuttered, the condensation from her breath steaming the air due to the cold.

"Yeah so am I." Naruto replied with a short laugh, he may not be able to be killed by the cold but he sure as hell still felt it.

"Cant we use another heater? It's too cold with just one, it doesn't matter how long we try and heat our food if it's so cold that it will freeze instantly." Karin said pleadingly.

"I really want to, but we don't know how far we have to go like this. If we use up the heaters to soon then you really will freeze, we need to ration them out, things will get worse before they get better." Naruto reasoned.

"I know your right but its hard to think that way when I cant get warm at all." The red head sighed, wrapping herself tighter into a ball to try and conserve body heat.

"All I can do is turn this heater up to full power, I've been trying to conserve it as much as possible. At least the sleeping bags should be warm." Naruto replied trying to keep his partners spirits up. After a few more minutes they began to eat some warm instant ramen, the thin air and low pressure causing the water to boil at lower temperature's preventing the food from being heated properly.

They ate for the most part in silence, focusing on their food, it may not have been as hot as either would like but compared to the sub zero temperatures outside and in the tent, it helped warm their whole body. Once she had finished karin placed the bowl off to the side to be cleaned. "Hey Naruto, when you left Konoha, was there someone that you liked?" she asked as casually as she could.

"I liked everyone in Konoha they were my family and comrades." Naruto replied clearly oblivious to the real line of questioning.

Karin almost face palmed at the blondes denseness. "No I mean a like a girl that you really liked, you know a crush, or a girlfriend?"

Naruto paused, his initial thought was to say that yes he had a crush on Sakura, but somehow he just couldn't. He had no real reason why but when he thought about the pinkette now he did not feel any attraction, sure he still cared for his former teammate but there was certainly nothing romantic about how he felt. Maybe it was because they grew apart, or maybe Naruto knew from the moment she had lied and attempted to confess to him that he realised that there was really nothing there.

His next mind then went to Hinata, his world had not settled down since his fight with Pein, it had just been one mission after another. The truth was he didn't know all that much about the shy Hyuuga, but he did know that she had loved him with all her heart. The more he thought about it, the more he regretted not getting to know Hinata better, if he had then he was sure that she would have been someone that he could love back. However, "No, I didn't have a girlfriend. For awhile there was a girl I had a crush on, but I got over that." The blonde said. "Did you ever like anyone other than Sasuke?"

"Well I didn't really meet many people other than Sasuke-kun, so I guess he was my only crush up till now." Karin admitted.

"I don't get it." Naruto stated suddenly.

"Get what?"

"What is it that everyone saw in Sasuke? He was about as interesting to talk to as an old sock, yet almost all the girls in Konoha chased after him like he was the second coming of the Rikudou Sennin or something. It used to make me so angry. I mean we were both orphans, yet everyone loved Sasuke while pretending I didn't even exist."

"Looking back I don't know what I saw in Sasuke-kun. If I was to guess I would say it's because saved me in the forest of death, back when he was a Konoha shinobi, it was during the Chunin exams. Nobody had ever cared if I lived or died before, I guess he became my saviour and because of that I couldn't see all of his faults. But it's rather ironic, the boy who was loved by the people became an enemy, while the boy who was hated and discarded became their greatest hero." Karin replied.

"Sasuke made too many wrong choices in his life. I remember Kakashi-sensei once telling me that I reminded him of Obito when he was a Genin, while Sasuke was a lot like he was, if that's true would that mean if I had been faced with the same same hardships that I would have become like he did? I don't know what it is like to lose a family like Sasuke did because I never had a family to begin with, but Kakashi-sensei did, he lost his dad when he was around the same age as Sasuke but they turned out so different in the end." Naruto sighed.

"I don't think you would ever turn out like that masked man did. Your chakra is too bright and colourful to ever become as dark and twisted as his did. There is no way that anything could change that, you were able to cope with being a jinchuuriki. Tobi, or should I say Obito couldn't cope with hardship, he gave up." Karin replied.

Naruto sighed and fell onto his back, his head hitting his sleeping bag "I really hope you are right I don't want to think that I would ever turn out like Obito did. Anyway this is still kind of depressing to talk about."

"You're right it's not really a happy topic. So let's talk about something else, like what are we going to do when we get over these mountains, right now I don't care what we find as long as it's warm." Karin said with a small laugh at the end.

"Yeah after this I want to find a nice village by the seaside where I can lay back and relax for awhile, like a holiday." Naruto replied wistfully.

Karin smiled at the thought of sitting on a beach with Naruto in a small quiet town. "A holiday from what exactly? We don't have jobs anymore, we don't even know if they will have ninja. I guess when you have the type of skills we have it can't be all that difficult to find work, you would be perfect if anyone wanted some destruction work. Maybe we could start up a business together, helping people who are in need."

"Yeah that sounds nice, we could even train others to help out, even start a new ninja village. It wont be Konoha but it would be a place where we could make a difference." Naruto said enthusiastically.

"Settle down, we're not there yet, but I think that would be a wonderful idea." The red haired Uzumaki replied. '_If we do start a business of village together that means we wont separate after we're over these mountains. Maybe I have a better chance of getting him to notice me than I thought._'

"I know it's just that since I decided to go on the run I have just been walking on without a real plan. I feel like I have a purpose again now. Since I gave up my dream to be Hokage starting a new shinobi village is the next best thing." Naruto said. He was already picturing a new place for him in the world.

'**It's good to be focused Naruto but it's like she said, there is no way of telling whether or not they have ninja in this new continent, there may be no need for you to start a village because there will be others willing to take you in or oppose you setting up in their territory.**' Kurama reasoned.

_'I know but I can live with that, I can at least still be a ninja if I join another village._' Naruto thought back in response.

'**True, but just because they are willing to accept you does not make them worthy of trust or loyalty. Many people joined that snake sannin Orochimaru because he was willing to accept them. All they got for their loyalty was becoming guinea pigs in his experiments. Don't trust people so unconditionally, you wont like where it will lead.**' Kurama retorted.

'_I know I'll be careful, thanks Kurama._' Naruto replied kindly. Thanks to the cold it didn't take long for Naruto and karin to retreat into their sleeping bags to keep warm. They pay awake for a few hours talking, the heater placed between them. This was the first night of what would be a very difficult few days.

(**The Next Day**)

The son rose early in Konoha, there was not a cloud in the sky, it seemed as if the heavens were mocking what was supposed to be a sad day, because they knew the truth. Even early in the morning there were people filing up to the site behind the Hokage monument where the funeral would be held. It was a field of black with everyone wearing mourning clothes. It wasn't until around noon that Kakashi and the other Kage arrived on a small stage where a open coffin containing the fake Naruto rested above the future grave site.

As Kakashi and the other Kage arrived the crowd fell silent. Kakashi moved to the front of the stage where a small podium had been placed while the other Kage took a seat on the stage along with Tsunade and the Konoha village elders. Despite the formal occasion Kakashi still wore his face mask and tilted forehead protector to cover his sharingan. "I first met Naruto when he was assigned to me as a potential Genin. I had seen him around the village before that time of course but like most of the people of Konoha here today I had my own opinions of what he would be like, a troublemaker a loudmouth, brash and unpredictable. He was all of those things, but the brat that used to terrorise the shopping district with his pranks was not the real Naruto Uzumaki. He was a boy that despite everything that he had gone through loved this village and the people in it, even if they didn't love him."

The audience, particularly those from Konoha were silent, they knew exactly what their Hokage was talking about, they had been the cause of his pain as a child. In a small section of the front row the members of the now known Konoha twelve minus the obvious two exclusions sat together. "He was rather troublesome when we were in the academy." Shikamaru sighed with a calm smile that adequately hid his sorrow.

"When did that ever change?" Kiba replied.

"I guess it never did." The lazy genius admitted fondly.

Back on the stage Kakashi's speech was continuing. "Naruto was not the most talented shinobi, but he had a drive and determination that was unmatched, if he was given a task that he wanted to accomplish, then he would do it no matter how difficult it was. I am ashamed to say that I didn't realise that, it took a much better man that I am to see his true potential, Jiraiya-sama who was able to teach Naruto more than I ever did in just over a month. The time came where I was replaced as his sensei and rightfully so, I am many things but I was never a good sensei. But even if he hadn't been taken on as Jiraiya-sama's apprentice Naruto would still have gone on to accomplish great things, that was just the strength of his character. Nothing could defeat him and he would always come back to try again even harder than before."

Kakashi continued to talk for several more minutes. He mentioned their first mission outside the village, the second bell test where he and Sakura managed to get the bells, every so often he would add a small joke to try and lift the sombre mood. Kakashi didn't like being so formal as it made him uncomfortable but it was worse knowing that while he was here giving a eulogy for someone that was alive and well. The overflow of emotion in the crowd was the hardest part. Ninja were not supposed to cry at a funeral as it disrespects the sacrifice, you are supposed to remain stoic as a sign of respect. The problem was many of those that had come to the funeral were not shinobi, sobbing could be heard in parts while even some of the shinobi had tears in their eyes, cursing that it had not been raining.

Once Kakashi was finished he placed a flower in the coffin and took as seat. Tsunade stood up and took Kakashi's place. She talked about how she had met an obnoxious blonde haired brat that pushed her buttons so much she wanted to squash him like a bug, and how that same boy made her love Konoha once more and convince her to become Hokage. Once she was finished she too added a flower to the one that Kakashi had placed in the coffin.

After Tsunade had finished they invited Sakura to speak but she declined. Instead Gaara stood up from his seat and walked forward. "Naruto Uzumaki was the greatest man I ever met, I am honoured to know that he considered me a friend. I do not speak these words lightly, he saved my life many times over and even to this day is one of only two men that have defeated me in a fight. I always wanted to be able to fight him again, return the favour if you will, but sadly I will never get that chance. What separated Naruto was the fact that he cared, even if it was an enemy hell bent on killing him, he would try and save them. Because of him Konoha and Suna will continue to have a strong bond of friendship for as long as I live. I am not here to honour a hero, I am here to say goodbye to the best friend that I could ever ask for.." The Kazekage said in his usual stoic manner.

Sand drifted slowly out of Gaara's gourd and traveled to rest inside Naruto's coffin. Gaara bowed to the audience and walked back to his seat. The other Kage didn't have much to say, the longest to eulogise was Bee but even then it didn't last long due to the fact the Kumo elders ordered him not to rap during any official situation where he was representing the village. Each Kage did as the last and placed a flower on the grave. Mei placed two gold coins over his eyelids along with the flower as a ritual from the Land of Water, and when the last of the Kage's had finished they allowed all the guests to do the same.

One by one shinobi and civilain alike would walk over to the coffin and throw in a flower, some paused for a few moments to say a few private words of parting before moving on. It took close to an hour for everyone to have their small moment of time, and when it was over Naruto's body was almost completely covered, with only his head still exposed looking as if he was simply asleep.

Everyone gathered around respectfully as the coffin was lowered into the ground, their were noticeably more tears now, with only the strongest willed of shinobi keeping a calm face. The surviving members of the Konoha twelve buried their comrade and Kakashi placed a simple headstone that had the symbol for the Uzumaki clan next to the Konoha leaf symbol above it had his name and nothing else. It was a sign of respect that they didn't have to say anything, his feats would be forever remembered. Which is why they gave him a private burial spot in the place reserved for the Hokage's who he admired so much.

Everyone stood in silent revelry around the grave, it was like everyone was caught in a time warp, nothing moved except the sun in the sky. Eventually and very slowly, the guests began to disperse, the village had been set up for a celebration and party once the funeral had ended, most just saw it as a good chance to get drunk and farewell Naruto properly.

(**Meanwhile**)

"Achoo!" Naruto sneezed for what felt like the thousandth time that day.

"Hey I hope you're not getting sick, we have to share a tent!" Karin yelled ever so slightly keeping her distance as the pair walked as quickly as they could though the thick snow of the mountainous plateau.

"No i'm fine, there must be just someone talking about me." Naruto replied cheerfully, or at least as cheerfully as he could manage in the cold, the snow was knee deep which was preventing them from moving at any great speed and everything just looked the same, it was white as far as he could see in any direction. He couldn't even tell how far they had traveled anymore with no mountainous landmarks to guide them. This meant that every so often he would have to take out a compass to check that they were still heading in the right direction. '_We just need to keep moving, things will get better I just know they will!_'

**End Chapter!**

**Alright another chapter done. I hope I made the funeral believable truth is I have only ever been to one and I was really young. I know that flowers are usually thrown on top of a coffin as it's buried but I liked the idea of everyone placing them inside. As for the two coins, well that is a different mythology all together, most people know about that ritual as it's older than most religions anyway. I'm hoping for one more chapter on the mountains where I will include a meeting with the five Kage then finally move onto the next arc. **

**I don't really have a rant this week, while I was not really a fan of the chapter it at least attempted to do some explaining. I am wondering however how it is Obito could revive himself with the heavenly rebirth when he wasn't dead yet and if he did die the he can't revive yourself anyway. The other more plausible option is that Madara revived Obito purposefully to become the jinchuuriki with a further plan in mind. (I prefer this option). **

**Despite my desire to see Obito die a horrible horrible death I am actually looking forward to next week where he will probably dismantle the former Hokage's until Madara inevitably steps in with whatever plan he has with the inclusion of a new Sharingan jutsu... because that's just what happens in this manga now.**


End file.
